


stories for the stars

by breeeliss



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Allusions to Sexual Themes, Altean Clothing, Angst, Broadsword Training, Christmas, F/M, Fake Marriage, Fantasy AU, First Aid, Flirting, Fluff, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, Language Sharing, Making Out, Mentions of Past Lotor/Allura, Minor Keith/Shiro (Voltron), Modern AU, Monsters & Mana AU, Parenthood, Romance, Sexual Tension, Training/Sparring, Valayun/Pike, Wedding Planning, Weddings, established relationships - Freeform, gift exchanges, injuries, mistletoe kisses, sharing showers, wedding talks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-09-28 02:22:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 22
Words: 25,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17174042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/breeeliss/pseuds/breeeliss
Summary: "Lance smiles at something he’s written down and Allura feels her cheeks match. He’s so beautiful, she thinks. And he’s hers. Every inch of him is an open book that she’s slowly memorizing the words to. It’s a slow process, but one that leaves her with an adventure at every turn of the page. Every day something new." -ch.17a collection of allurance short fics





	1. "a matched set" | T | 2843

**Author's Note:**

> i have a lot of short fics on my blog that i decided to put in one place on ao3 so that they're easier to find. ratings and word counts will be included in the chapter titles to make things easier for you to browse through. tags will be added to the story as more fics are included. hope you enjoy :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ["a matched set"](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/post/167016734234/v-0-3-small-doodle-before-bed-i-felt-like)  
> rating: T  
> wc: 2843
> 
>   _Allura is feeling a little self conscious about her recent injury. Lance finds a way to help_

“Alright, princess. Should be healed up just fine!”

Allura frowned in the mirror as she brushed her fingers over the missing part of her ear that had been singed off by a stray blaster shot from a Galra sentry. The skin had healed up nicely thanks to Coran, but there was nothing to be done about the gap it had left behind. She tried to adjust her hair to cover up the injury, but it seemed that her hair wasn’t thick enough to do the job. Still, at least the bleeding and the pain had stopped, and for that she should be grateful. “Thank you, Coran,” she said. “I’m sorry to trouble you like this.”

“No trouble at all, Princess,” Coran assured. “It’s not as if you ended up in a healing pod for major bodily repairs.”

Lance scoffed from the corner. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Allura smirked. “It means you’re not watching your back enough. That’s the third time you’ve taken a blaster to the shoulder. You ought to be more careful.”

“I was being careful,” he pouted. “But you needed cover and I wasn’t going to let you fight all those sentries alone.”

“I would’ve been fine.”

“Not saying you wouldn’t have been.”

She looked at him over her shoulder to berate him with a glare, but he merely winked and gave her a cocky smirk in return as if suffering from an injury that left him almost passed out from the pain was trivial to him. Allura hadn’t expected Lance to share Keith’s same cavalier attitude towards injuries, but it seemed as if the two of them were depending a little too heavily on the restorative properties of the healing pods lately. From Keith, this was to be expected as his impulsive approach to missions hadn’t changed over the years. But Lance’s mindful caution had been replaced with an almost reckless desire to make sure that he was harmed before any of his teammates were, especially Allura. Most of the time when he took fire, it was fire that was meant for her.

She supposed that’s why he headed straight for the medical bay to see her after he’d stumbled out his healing pod. Even a small scratch was enough to keep him stewing anxiously in the corner until Coran was positive all was well. It was hard to be annoyed at his protectiveness when she knew it was less to do with not having faith in her competency and more to do with worrying for her well being.

“Well, I don’t think there’s anything left for me to do,” Coran announced. “I’m going to make sure the prisoners we rescued are settling in alright. Will you be fine on your own, princess?”

“Of course,” she smiled. “I think I’ll just be heading to bed after this. All the excitement’s left me rather tired.”

“Say no more. I’ll keep watch over the ship while you sleep.” He clapped Lance on the shoulder as he left the room. “Rest up that arm of yours until tomorrow!”

When they were finally left alone, Allura couldn’t stop from glancing back at the mirror and frowning at her mangled ear. Lance must have seen the concern on her face because he came up from behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and rested his chin on her shoulder. “You look awfully worried.”

Allura sighed and leaned her head against his. “I don’t mean to look worried. I’m honestly fine.”

“You can’t fool me with that, ‘Lura, you know that.” He pressed a soft kiss to her jaw and whispered against her skin. “Something’s bothering you. What is it?”

“It’s silly,” Allura insisted. “You’ll laugh if I tell you.”

“Nothing worrying you this much is silly, I promise.”

She smiled at him and stared at his reflection in the mirror in front of them. “I hate how my ear looks,” she admitted.

“Because of the shot you took?”

“Yes. And I know it’s vain to complain about something so minor. I know we’re all covered in scars at the end of the day, and it’s just part of being in danger all the time. But this one bothers me.”

The truly beautiful thing about Lance was that he knew how to appreciate simple things – things that were minuscule in the shadow of their responsibilities as protectors of the universe, but meaningful during the day-to-day when the chaos was still and they were allowed to be selfish. Worrying about how her ear looked sounded like one of those selfish, personal things that she felt compelled to bury deep and not burden anyone with. But Lance hugged her closer and hummed in sympathy. “Why does this one bother you and not the others?”

“I don’t know…” Allura began. “I don’t know if you know this, but on Altea, your ears are one of the most beautiful parts of the body. If someone calls your ears beautiful, you can consider that quite the compliment. And my family was always so proud whenever someone would say what beautiful ears I had. It was a small thing, but I guess it was more important to me than I thought.”

Lance chuckled. “I guess that’s why my ears freak you out so much, right?”

“Oh, stop it, I apologized for that already.”

“Hey, it’s okay. If I was beautiful all over I’d be too much for you to handle. A man has to stay humble,” he grinned.

Allura pinched his cheek and laughed with him, grateful that he could put a smile on her face. “Anyway, I told you it was silly. It’s not like beautiful ears are important anymore. I suppose I’ll get used to it.”

“You make it sound like your ear isn’t still beautiful,” Lance said. He proved his point by moving to her other side and kissing the scar just short of the tip of her ear. “You’re gorgeous as always. That won’t change because of something like this.”

Allura turned her head so that her nose was buried in Lance’s hair that he recently decided to keep cut so short. “Thank you. Really. It feels nice that you’d let me complain about something like this.”

“You can complain to me all you want. You know that sort of thing doesn’t bother me. If anything I encourage it. Remember–”

“I know, I know. Complaint Corner every other quintent. Share any problem big or small. I know you say it’s healthy, but it sometimes feels strange to fret over things like what we had for dinner that evening.”

“There’s a method to my madness,” Lance assured. “It’s always good to get used to letting things out and not bottling things up. Even if it’s just about your ear.” He moved behind her and collected her hair in his hands so that he could see the injury better. “Still sore about it?”

Allura blushed. “I imagine I will be for a while. But I’ll get over it. Thanks for the comfort though.”

Lance pecked her on the lips and smiled at her gasp of surprise. “It’s my pleasure.”

“Come to bed with me?” she asked.

“In a little bit,” Lance promised. “I’m gonna take care of something first. But I’ll come lay down with you soon.”

“Don’t be too long,” Allura said. “It’s easier to sleep when you’re with me.”

* * *

 

To literally no one’s surprise, Keith ran off to the training room after their mission to sharpen and polish his Marmora blade. He was oddly obsessed with keeping the thing in mint condition, although Lance supposed that had more to do with sentimentality than with being overly compulsive. So he tended to leave Keith alone since anything that served as a way to relax Keith’s mind and keep him focused was highly encouraged in Lance’s book. Still, he wanted to get this over and done with before Allura fell asleep for the night, so he cleared his throat as he entered the training room in order to get Keith’s attention.

“Hey,” Keith mumbled, not looking up from his work. “How’s your arm?”

“Eh, fine,” Lance waved off. “It only took like fifteen minutes in the healing pod to fix up. No biggie.”

“Make sure someone’s watching your six next time, you idiot.”

“Hey, shut up I had it handled until a bunch of them came out of the freaking ceiling.”

“Excuses, excuses.”

“Oh fuck off.”

Keith chuckled and reached next to him to dip for more polish. “You need something?”

Lance scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, actually. Only problem is that it might require you to get that knife dirty again.”

“No you can’t use my knife to cut your fingernails.”

“Not what I was gonna ask!” Lance complained. “I was, uh…I was wondering if you’d be willing to nick my ear a little.”

Keith finally looked up and furrowed his brows at Lance. “Wait, what?”

“Nothing huge,” Lance explained. “Just up here near the cartilage. I’m talking like a really small slice off the corner. I can sneak back in the medical bay and patch it up myself. I saw where Coran keeps all the supplies for low grade injuries.”

“Why am I cutting your ear?”

“Well,” he began. “Allura lost a bit of it during the mission today and she seemed really bummed about it. She really likes her ears, you know? So I thought if we matched it might make her feel better.”

Keith snorted and absently wiped the polish off his knife. “Yeah, that sounds like the kind of sappy boyfriend thing you’d do.”

“Let me live. I just hate it when she looks upset. Makes my heart break, seriously. If something this small can maybe cheer her up, it’s worth it.”

“I mean, if you’re sure about it, I guess I can slice off a bit of it. It’s gonna hurt like a bitch though. At least blaster shots cauterize it. This is gonna bleed.”

Lance rolled his eyes and sat cross legged in front of Keith. “Eh, what else is new? You handle a knife better than anyone here, so at least I know you won’t fuck it up.”

Keith smiled. “Gee, my heart’s all aflutter.”

“Hurry up and knife me, you fucker.”

“Alright, alright, hold still. Right or left?”

“Left.”

“Is up here good?”

“Yeah, yeah. Just…do it quick, okay?”

“Hey, you’re lucky you caught me right when I sharpened it,” Keith said. “It’ll glide through easy, don’t worry. Like I said. I’m worried about you fainting over the blood.”

“I’m not a teenager anymore, dumbass.”

“You’re prissy. Gotta make sure you’re not gonna cry if I get blood on your shirt.”

“God I hate you.”

“Hate you too, buddy.” He grabbed the cloth he was using to polish his knife and laid it over Lance’s left shoulder. “Want me to count down?”

Lance blew out a nervous breath. “Yeah, I’d appreciate that.”

Keith traced the triangular cut he was going to make with the tip of his knife and held Lance’s head steady. “Alright. On three. One. Two. Three.”

* * *

 

Allura was just about to doze off to sleep when the door to their bedroom flew open and Lance waltzed inside, immediately tugging off his shirt and throwing it in the corner of the room.

She smiled into her pillow and peeked through her curtains of hair as she watched Lance undress. “I thought you’d forgotten about me.”

“A beautiful thing like you waiting for me to join her in bed before she falls asleep? What kind of idiot would forget someone like that?”

“Let me guess. A really special kind of idiot?”

“The most special. Rare breed. Terrifying too. Not anyone you’d wanna waste your time with. Better stick with me.”

Allura laughed and rolled onto her back, lifting the sheets to let Lance crawl into bed with her. He settled up against the pillows with a sigh and Allura immediately huddled into his open arms to rest her head on his chest. He leaned across her to shut off the lights, but as he did Allura looked up and caught sight of his left ear which had a fresh injury just near the tip that she hadn’t noticed when she’d last left him. “When did you hurt your ear?”

Lance blinked and touched a hand up to the missing piece of his ear. “Oh this old thing? I barely even noticed it.”

“That wasn’t there a couple of hours ago,” Allura frowned. “I’m pretty sure I would’ve remembered that.”

“Ah, well,” Lance chuckled nervously. “I…told you I had to take care of something before bed.”

Allura leaned up on her elbow and stared down at a sheepish Lance. “What did you do?”

Lance winced. “Well. I, uh. I went to go visit Keith for a bit.”

“…Keith.”

“Yeah. He was sharpening his knife when I found him. Which is almost always what he’s doing. But I guess a sharp knife came in handy this time around.”

It took Allura a couple of seconds to understand what had happened, and when the realization came she smacked Lance on the shoulder and gaped at him. “You cut your ear!?”

“It wasn’t a big deal!” Lance swore. “It bled a lot, and it turns out Keith and I know less about first aid than we thought. But it healed up well considering. And it looks pretty bad ass if you ask me. Matches the scar going over my eye. Makes me look all rugged and sexy, huh?”

Allura reached up and ran her fingers over the scar, just as she did with her own ear a few hours ago. “Why would you do something like that on purpose?”

Lance seemed totally unbothered when he answered. “Hey, if I look great with a cut, you look totally awesome.”

Allura blinked and watched a slow flush spread over Lance’s cheeks as he curled a lock of her hair around his finger and kept her gaze. “You did it…so we could match?”

“Sort of,” Lance began. “I thought…well you looked so bummed out about it. I figured if we both had our ears cut, you might not feel so bad about it. Because you’re not the only one. Not so weird when it’s the both of us.”

She grinned in disbelief and grabbed both of his ears so that she could pull him in for a slow kiss that left Lance’s toes curling and his ears warming. “You’re so silly,” she berated him gently. “You didn’t have to go and do that. I would’ve been fine.”

“I know,” Lance smiled. “But I wanted to. There’s nothing remotely unsightly about you. Your ear is gorgeous. Your scars are gorgeous. Everything about you is gorgeous. That’s never going to change no matter what sort of injuries you get. Beauty like that doesn’t get shot off by a stray blaster.”

The depths of Lance’s kindness never ceased to surprise her. It seemed that no matter how long she knew him – no matter how much she loved him – there would always be more and more for her to discover, as if the longer his affection for her lasted, the richer his heart became. She couldn’t think of anyone who would do something so hopelessly foolish and undeniably selfless just to put a smile on her face and make her feel less self-conscious over something as little as a marred ear. The truly amazing part of it all was that it really felt like it worked. It was so hard to feel awful about it when Lance had gone through so much effort to show how much it didn’t matter. That was his speciality after all – getting her to forget her anxieties and worries for a few hours everyday in exchange for a few moments of peace and rest. Lance didn’t realize it, but that quality in him made him so much more special than Allura anyone had ever had the pleasure to know. It was times like this where she felt impossibly lucky to have gained so much of his love.

“You know, I sort of miss the days when you were eighteen and still feeding me ridiculous pick-up lines. I’m afraid you’re getting a little too smooth with age.”

Lance hummed and pressed his lips to the crown of her head as she laid back down on his chest and snuggled closer to him. “No such thing as too smooth. If anything, I’m pretty sure I can get smoother.”

Allura yawned. “Oh my. How will I survive?”

“It’ll be tough,” Lance said. “But don’t worry. I’ll be there to catch you when you swoon.”

She kissed a couple of the scars on his chest. “Not if I make you swoon first.”

His fingers gently grazed her back and started to lull her to sleep, the rumbles of his chest relaxing her whole body as he mumbled sweet words into her hair. “It’d be a privilege to swoon over your words, princess. Anything you say it always enough to make me melt.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [tumblr](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/breeeliss)


	2. "first steps" | G | 772

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ["first steps"](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/post/169055605904/can-i-get-the-baby-firsts-steps-prompt-with)  
> rating: G  
> wc: 772 
> 
> _Lance and Allura's daughter is about to hit a really exciting milestone_

“Lance, your hovering is making her nervous.”

Lance was lying on the floor a couple of feet in front of his daughter as he zoomed his camera phone in on her puzzled expression and adjusted the lamp he had shining directly at her. “I’m not hovering,” he corrected. “I’m creating a story.”

Allura crouched down next to him and waved excitedly at the eight month old who was still struggling to get her feet underneath her. “Oh, is that what it is? I thought you were just being overdramatic.”

“There is no such thing as overdramatic when it comes to our daughter,” Lance pouted. “I want to get her walking on camera, and the lighting has to be perfect so that I can capture the emotional journey leading up to the event.”

“She can barely talk, love, there’s not much of a journey there to capture.”

Lance gasped and quickly covered her mouth. “Not in front of the baby! If she wants an emotional journey then she can have an emotional journey because she deserves whatever she wants.” He turned back and gave the baby a huge smile that made her giggle and slip against the smooth, tiled floor. “Isn’t that right princess? You beautiful little sun drop, you deserve the whole world now don’t you?”

Allura hurriedly smacked his shoulder. “Oooh, keep doing that, keep doing that, it’s helping her stand. Come on, darling! Look at mommy, you can do it!”

They kept their voices high and sugary as they watched their daughter push her butt into the air with her hands pressed against the floor and ponder how she was meant to push herself up to stand. Allura reached her hand out to catch her in case she fell while Lance busied himself with adjusting the lighting and constantly changing the zoom on his camera.

“Stop doing close ups on her face,” Allura scolded. “I want to see the actual walking.”

“Her face is screwed up so cute though!” Lance cooed. “Look how hard she’s concentrating. And she’s sticking her little tongue out!”

“If you miss her walking, I’m kicking you out of our bedroom.”

“Don’t worry, ‘Lura,” Lance assured. “I was practically a film studies major back at the Garrison, this is me in my natural habitat.”

She stared at him flatly. “I may not be from Earth but even I know that your flight classes didn’t include a filming component.”

Lance scoffed. “Everyone’s a critic. Don’t worry, babe, I’ve got this. They’re going to put this in film festivals. She’s going to be famous.”

Allura gasped and crawled back next to Lance. “Oh oh oh wait! I think she’s got it! She’s almost up!”

They both leaned their heads in close as they watched the baby push against the floor once, twice, three times before she was finally standing up with her feet wide apart and laughing at the delighted faces of her parents who were eagerly waving her over and trying to get her to take a couple of steps.

The baby mistook the gesture and started to clap her hands instead, and Lance had to let go of the lamp and hold out on of her baby toys in order to get her attention. “Come on, baby girl, you can do it. Just a few steps and it’s all yours.”

Allura grabbed onto him and smiled into Lance’s shoulder. “She’s staring at it! Look, look, she’s trying to move!”

It was hard for Lance to keep the camera steady because she was shaking so hard from all the laughter and excitement he was feeling, but it only took a few second of shaking the toy for their daughter to take a tentative couple of steps in their direction without stumbling or falling. Allura and Lance held their breath at the same time and didn’t dare make a sound as they watched her slowly shuffle the remaining three steps towards Lance’s toy before grabbing it in her hands and squealing in victory.

Allura quickly scooped her up while Lance whooped into the camera and starting running around the room, shouting about how much or a prodigy his precious little girl was. “You did it!” Allura cheered, leaning in to nuzzle their noses together. “You did so well, I’m so proud of you!”

Lance slid across the floor and planted to big kisses on the cheeks of his two favorite ladies and started to flip through his phone contacts. “Oh my god, we have to send this to everybody. Everybody needs to see this. Pure raw talent, I’m telling you. Our girl’s going places, ‘Lura. Just you wait.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [tumblr](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/breeeliss)


	3. "eulogy" | G | 436

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ["eulogy"](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/post/174979875344/eulogy-she-traces-the-death-left-on-his-skin)  
> rating: G  
> wc: 436
> 
> _Post s6e01. "They sit in the medical bay together while she treats his scars, but Lance tells her that his death felt like nothing."_

She traces the death left on his skin. 

Long, beautiful fractals of pale scars map their way down from Lance’s shoulder blades until they disappear underneath his waistband and continue down the length of his leg. They pulse so beautifully under his flexing muscles that Allura almost forgets how blinding the pain must have been, how deep they must have cut, how cruelly they attempted to snatch him away from her. 

They sit in the medical bay together while she treats his scars, but Lance tells her that his death felt like nothing. “So much pain that it felt like the entire universe was on fire. But then for just a second it stopped. And once I looked out and saw that you were safe, my body let me go.” 

“And it felt like nothing?” she asks. 

“Felt like laying down after a long, productive day. Like my work was done and I could finally rest.” 

His body tells so many sad stories and Allura asks for all of them. The burns on his back? “From the explosion I saved Coran from.” And the darkened skin on the side of his neck? “A blaster shot aimed for Pidge that never really healed right.” And the scar across his chest? “Pushed my niece out of the way of a car going ninety in a school zone.” But he ends each one with a smile and finds no sadness in sacrifice. 

“I value my life,” he explains, already seeing the confusion in her eyes. “My life is powerful. It can save and heal and keep good things living longer. I can’t think of anything more valuable than that.” 

Allura remembers how little her body hesitated when she flew to Lance’s ship, poured all of her heart into her magic to bring him back, and held him tight when the radiation came so close she could feel her armor beginning to sizzle and melt. How little death mattered. How much his life mattered more. How sacrifice doesn’t always mean loss, doesn’t always end in tragedy, isn’t always a sad story painted on someone’s skin. It’s beautiful. Beautiful like his scars. Beautiful like his smile. Beautiful like his heart that bleeds out so much good.

She leans forward and presses a kiss to his story –  _their_  story. The one they survived together. The one they’re still creating together. The one that will always begin and end with the two of them. 

Allura holds him close again and whispers against the crown of his head. “You are so full of life. And you are far more powerful than you know.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [tumblr](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/breeeliss)


	4. "genuflection" | M | 414

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ["genuflection"](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/post/175764720169/genuflection)  
> rating: M  
> wc: 414
> 
> _Lance is Allura's most loyal subject_

There is an old Altean parable that speaks of a warrior from a foreign land who came before the Altean king asking for refuge from his war torn planet. The king asked the warrior to prove his worth before he was permitted to enter their kingdom. So the warrior fell to one knee and took the first sip of the king’s goblet, risking death by poisoned wine for the sake of a king that was not his. Amazed by the warrior’s selflessness, the king welcomed the warrior with open arms and made him his right hand until the day of his death.  

Allura remembers this as she watches Lance kneel before her, a formality enforced by a conservative planet scandalized by the casual way the Red Paladin had been touching her when they stepped down on their soil. It’s an archaic concession, but Lance treats it like an honor long overdue, even going so far as to ask for her hand and press a kiss to her knuckles that is a touch longer than what the locals probably consider appropriate. It speaks of a dark promise, one that makes Allura turn away from his smirk and hide the heat in her face. 

When they’re alone and he’s pressing her down into her sheets, he bleeds reverence and holds no fear. He explores every inch of her with blind bravery that destroys her control and reduces her to shivers and sighs. She marvels at his nerve to deny her: to refuse her the things she asks for before giving her things she didn’t know she wanted. It goes against all she knows about courting and chivalry which dictate that her desires are on an order higher than any god’s. But she adores the rebellion and easily collapses into the pace he sets. 

Allura knows they mutter behind her back when Lance pulls and doesn’t follow, insists and doesn’t digress, debates and doesn’t acquiesce. They question his commitment, titter about his devotion, and ask her whether she believes this mere boy is worthy to treat a princess with so much familiarity. 

But she laughs at their concern and tells them that Lance’s loyalty rivals even that of all the right hands her family has ever known. Where it matters, Lance knows when to lay down his life and sacrifice his very being for her. 

When Allura asks him to fall to one knee and drink from between her legs, he does so with a smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [tumblr](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/breeeliss)


	5. "recovery" | G | 577

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ["recovery"](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/post/175866503404/i-hope-youre-doing-better-embarassed)  
> rating: G  
> wc: 577
> 
> _Post s7. The rot left over from Lotor's touch is a difficult one to scrub away._

Allura stays in the bath for two hours and scrubs her skin raw. 

There’s something buzzing underneath the surface. Something heavy. Something sinister. Something placed there by a person who’d so easily danced past her reservations and deposited his filth in a place she can’t reach but can always feel. It’s her skin crawling in the morning and her throat tightening at night. It’s the sickness that comes when she remembers his kiss and the anger that comes when she relives his words. 

He is  _everywhere_. A brackish stink that clings to her no matter how desperately she wishes to watch it flow down the drain, out of sight, and into another time. One far back in her past. Farther than her family. Farther than her home. So small and discreet that it’s barely a blink. Barely even an exhale. No longer a thought. 

She sits at the edge of the tub – too tired to dry, too distracted to dress – and waits for the redness to fade and her color to return. 

Allura doesn’t hear Lance enter the bathroom, but she does hear his gasp and the slap of his hands over his eyes when he realizes she’s covered by nothing but her hair hanging limply over her chest. He shrieks his apology and she knows he’s waiting for her outrage, but she can’t seem to care. She’s still watching, still wondering, like a little girl sitting at the window waiting for her hero to return. 

Something breaks through and she jumps at the contact before she realizes it’s Lance – ears blushing, eyes closed tight, carefully wrapping a towel around her and tying it from behind. He’s careful not to touch her skin or disturb her peace. Only looking to stop the shivering she’d only just realized had been wracking her entire body. 

“It’s a long day tomorrow,” he tells her - words pronounced crisply, intentions treading carefully. “We should all sleep.” 

Allura feels like a husk of something once strong now being led around by a boy who struggles to find the right thing to say. When they arrive at her room, he ties her wet hair up, pulls out her night clothes, and turns his back while he lets her change. It’s shameful to be lead around like an invalid – like her strength has been sapped at her confidence crumbled – but she leans into his touch as he leads her to her bed. He’s warm. He’s honest. He’s clean and bright and good. She wants to fall into him. Bury herself in him. 

The thought of replacing the memory of one kiss with another dances across her mind before she realizes how dangerous an impulse like that might be. 

Instead Allura lets Lance tuck her in, brush her hair back, and press his lips to the crown of her head – so light and careful, so afraid of agitating whatever tumultuous rot is keeping her out of sorts. 

“I hope you’re doing better,” Lance pleads with her. “But if you’re not…I also hope you’ll talk to me. Even if it’s just because you want me to listen.” 

Allura wants to pull at him and beg him to stay –  _warm warm so warm_  – but her hands fall away when she tries. Instead she watches him stand, watches him linger, and watches him go. 

The smell of him still stays, and for that brief moment all of the crawling stops. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [tumblr](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/breeeliss)


	6. "a little game" | T | 434

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ["a little game"](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/post/175867734444/you-think-youre-really-clever-dont-you)  
> rating: T  
> wc: 434
> 
> _Lance is used to flirting with Allura. He's not used to Allura flirting back._

In hindsight, it was a terrible line. But Lance couldn’t resist the beauty of the pun. 

Allura had long realized Lance enjoyed the satisfaction of a good delivery more than the prospect of reciprocation. It was a game – a harmless one but one that he played through knee jerk reactions and foot in mouth moments. This is one of those foot in mouth moments. In fact, Lance can practically feel his heel halfway down his throat when he sees Allura stop, tilt her head, and slowly turn around to face him with an expression that is frighteningly unreadable. 

She approaches him in what can only be described as a prowl – slow, purposeful, pinning him in place and making him feel as if he’s about to be devoured. Or at the very least chewed out for nudging a toe too far out of line. 

Instead she backs him up until the back of his head collides painfully with the wall behind him. 

There’s dizzying power mixed with smug humor radiating off her that makes him  _shake,_ and when she drags a finger from his sternum down the center of his chest, a noise leaves his throat. It’s embarrassing how violently his body shivers but it’s the precise reaction she wants to pull from him. 

“You think you’re really clever, don’t you?” Allura asks. She hooks a finger into the collar of his shirt and uses the anchor to pull herself closer and press her chest to his. Suddenly everything is soft, warm, beautiful, and  _close_  – so close that his hair is fluttering under the brush of her exhales. 

Allura’s gaze demands a response from him, so he swallows and prays for his brain to supply a decent answer. “It…was a pretty bad joke…now that I think about it.” 

Her brows rise. “Really? Were you kidding?” Allura’s finger moves, the back of it brushing against the bare skin under his shirt and suddenly everything within a five foot radius around him is on  _fire_. “I thought you liked playing games.” 

“I-I-I wasn’t really….trying to play anything…I don’t play…it was a….I was just–”

Allura shushes him, another finger gently dragging down his lips that are wet from how much he’d been licking and biting them. “It’s okay,” she promises. And then she’s close, so close, lips brushing the shell of his ear and making his knees grow weak. “I’m happy to play too.” 

Lance feels her tongue peek out out before she places a kiss on his ear lobe, and that’s all it takes for his legs to buckle and give out underneath him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [tumblr](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/breeeliss)


	7. "brush with fate" | T | 510

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ["brush with fate"](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/post/175886940844/for-the-prompt-thing-i-thought-i-lost-you)  
> rating: T  
> wc: 510
> 
> _Post s6. "Lance hadn’t noticed how dependent he’d grown on the healing pods until he got hurt after they were gone."_

Lance hadn’t noticed how dependent he’d grown on the healing pods until he got hurt after they were gone. 

He didn’t give his mortality a second thought. There was no need to fear the ramifications of racing into danger or pushing a comrade back in order to take the brunt of the gunfire. Anything from a crushed arm to a stopped heart could be reversed and perfected in only a couple of days, and his reckless heroism could continue on as it did before. Thank you magical alien medical advancement. 

So Lance barely wasted a thought on the self destruct sequence that Pidge was desperately trying to override to secure their escape. He stayed behind to cover her and face off against several dozen Galra drones trying to impede their progress. Some blood and some burns were hardly even prices to pay, just inconveniences to fix later. 

And then two things hit him at the same time: the realization that there  _were_  no healing pods, and the excruciating pain that licked up his arm as a blaster shot went right through his shoulder plate. 

Lance was no stranger to his nerves being lit on fire and was intimately familiar with the color of his blood. He was a soldier. His injuries were his old friends. But as he grew dizzy and as his face hit the floor, he felt weak and scared for the first time in years. Their lions couldn’t put the blood back in his body, couldn’t scare away the blackness creeping in from his periphery, couldn’t clamp down on his shoulder hard enough to buy himself more time. 

Images flickered in and out after that. He remembered Allura’s face. He remembered being pulled across the floor by a remarkable force. He remembered more pain, something being slathered on his shoulder, unimaginable pressure against his wound. He remembered tasting salt water, hearing screams that sounded miles away, feeling something warm pepper across his eyes and his cheeks, and finally a blue glow that enveloped him and made him feel like he’d been pulled into an embrace. 

Lance woke up in the blue lion – bandaged, dizzy,  _alive,_ and underneath Allura who’d been napping on his chest. When he carded his trembling fingers through her hair, she bolted straight up and relief and happiness warmed her pallid cheeks with color. 

He felt that warmth pepper across his face again –  _her kisses_ , he realized – and hugged her tight when she sobbed into his chest and kept repeating the same words over and over again. “I thought I lost you.” 

Lance remembered the blue glow and realized she’d saved him. 

The burden of his mortality was no longer resting on the shoulders of a scrap of machinery that felt nothing. 

It rested on  _her_  shoulders now. 

His life wasn’t just his anymore. 

So he kissed the top of her head, hushed her crying, and made her a promise that he’d keep until the day he dies an old man in his sleep. “I’ll never scare you like that again.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [tumblr](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/breeeliss)


	8. "environmentally conscious" | M | 560

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ["environmentally conscious"](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/post/175895692934/no-line-or-emotion-but-you-want-it-i-want-it-we)  
> rating: M  
> wc: 560
> 
> _Allura accidentally walks in on Lance in the shower._

Allura didn’t realize that the guest showers on this planet were communal. 

After flying for two days straight, she figured that waltzing into the shower room after the rest of the paladins had fallen asleep would ensure her privacy and the chance to doze off underneath the steam and hot water for a good long varga. 

She yawned as she hung her towel and blindly stumbled into the shower. But as she reached for the knobs, she felt another hand at the same time she heard a choked, garbled noise sound from just a few inches in front of her. She opened her eyes and saw that it was Lance standing in front of her – mortified,  _naked_ , and desperately trying to keep his gaze on her face and not an inch lower. 

Allura screamed in surprise and accidentally clicked on the hot water that cascaded down on them like rain falling from the ceiling. Perhaps it was because they were tired and their minds were still struggling to make sense of their predicament, but neither of them moved. They stayed staring, blinking past the water, and trying not to follow the path of those droplets gong down  _down down…_  

Lance and Allura were dancing around a strange line for a few months now. Sharper words, heavier stares, longer moments of silence. Never heated, but always pregnant with something powerful that they’d both been too afraid to vocalize. Allura thought about acting on it a couple of times – moments of weakness brought about by a guilty desperation to forget her stress and be  _touched_  – but was always stopped by the severity of their mission that didn’t leave room for indulgence. 

But he was so close and everything was so  _hot_. The steam was making her head spin and was cloaking his features in a handsome, mysterious haze that made her want to lean up and kiss him. She could see his collarbone, the gorgeous lines of the muscles in his shoulders, and she decided to break their rules and follow a drop of water that travelled down the middle of his pecs and over his abdomen. 

Lance’s nervous laugher made her look back up to his face, and he seemed relieved by whatever tension she had broken for them. His eyes weren’t nearly as adventurous, but they came to rest right where the swell of her breasts began before lazily following the slope of her neck. “I can wait for you to finish up if you want.” 

Allura bit her lip and watched him zero in on the action. He was giving her an out. She knew that if she said yes, he’d close his eyes, walk back out the shower, and pretend nothing had ever happened. If that was what she wanted. but Allura wasn’t sure if it was. If she ignored the logic trying to pound against her skull and merely followed the pull of her own body…she knew what she  _needed_  . 

She felt her body lean towards him, and his body followed the pull. “You were here first. I wouldn’t want to kick you out.” 

“So then what do we do?” 

Allura’s forehead touched his and she breathed in the fitful energy between them. When her fingers touched the bare skin of Lance’s hip, he shivered and fell right into her. 

“We save water.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [tumblr](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/breeeliss)


	9. "pairs" | G | 652

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ["pairs"](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/post/175901526594/thats-not-why-i-need-you-here-surprised)  
> rating: G  
> wc: 652
> 
> _Allura needs Lance's help for a very important diplomatic mission._

It was truly amazing that, despite literally saving the universe at least four times over, certain planets could still be so way of offering the paladins their hospitality. The Maelorians seemed to think that “lodging and supplies” was some sort of Altean code for “pulling them into a war agreement against their will” which meant that Allura had to put her diplomacy hat on just to get them a place to stay for the next two days. 

Certainly a step down from having a gorgeous Altean ship to live in, but what could you do when existence as you knew it was under threat? You had to ditch the cool digs and deal with the intergalactic equivalent of couch surfing until you made it back to Earth for your grand homecoming. 

Allura seemed intimately familiar with the customs of the Maelorians and told the team that audiences with the Maelorian queen must be taken in pairs. If they could plead their case and convince the queen that they truly were only here to take refuge after flying non-stop for days, they should be able to sleep in actual beds and eat food that wasn’t freeze dried and over processed. 

Everyone had assumed it would be Keith to accompany Allura – he was their leader and Shiro still seemed too weak to handle hours of diplomatic talk. But Allura surprised all of them by insisting that she wanted Lance to accompany her. 

“Why?” he asked. “Doesn’t it look better to have the leader of Voltron representing us?” 

“The Maelorian queen is a vapid thing and will probably be more receptive to a charmer like you. She usually likes it when young men dote on her.” 

“Wait…are you giving me  _permission_  to flirt with someone?” 

“If it will secure us lodgings for the team, then yes. Flirt your heart out. But we need to go soon. Maelorian royalty hates to be kept waiting.” 

They were greeted by a retinue of the queen’s closest advisors before being led to the royal palace. Lance hooked his arm around Allura’s and leaned down to whisper. “So when you say I should be flirting with the queen, how high am I turning it on? I don’t want to be inappropriate by accident.” 

Allura winced. “Yes, ah. Well. Actually, that’s not really why I need you here.” 

Lance blinked. “Excuse me?” 

“I just said that in front of the team so that they wouldn’t ask questions. I asked you to come with me for a reason but it wasn’t so you could flirt with the queen. I actually  _strongly_  advise against that. It’ll blow our cover.” 

“Cover? Cover for what?” 

The doors of the palace opened and the Maelorian queen – decked out in beautiful silks and dripping jewels – clapped excitedly as she spotted them. “Ah, Princess Allura, what a delight! and my goodness, why didn’t you tell me your husband was such a handsome thing?” 

Lance sucked in a breath and choked on his spit. “ _H-Husband!?_ ”

“Isn’t he?” Allura smiled, cutting him off. “It’s only been official for a few phoebs so it’s still a bit of shock to him whenever he hears it. Isn’t he just a darling?” 

“Absolutely!” the queen gushed. “Well, let’s not waste any time. Come in, come in, we have much to talk about.” 

Allura had to pull him a little harder than usual in order to get his feet moving, but once he’d found his voice he hissed shrilly in her ear. “What the hell is going on!?” 

Allura laughed nervously and pressed a kiss to the back of his hand when she saw the Maelorian queen staring at them. “Right. So, uh, remember when I said audiences with the Maelorian queen must be taken in pairs?”

“Yeah?”

“I meant married pairs,” Allura clarified. “So we should probably get our honeymoon story straight before we make it to the throne room.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [tumblr](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/breeeliss)


	10. "translation" | G | 582

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ["translation"](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/post/178025890564/translation)  
> rating: G  
> wc: 583
> 
> _Allura and Lance turn off their universal translators for one evening._

They turned their universal translators off for one evening. 

Lance pressed a finger against the base of Allura’s skull, and she felt a slight jolt as the neural connection was severed. She returned the favor and marveled at the unfamiliar curse that left his lips as he rubbed at one of his temples. She had no way of communicating with him now, so she tapped her lips and stared at him expectantly. 

He cleared his throat and spoke a short sentence in Spanish, a fervent request of hers when Lance had asked her which language she had wanted him to speak. “Your first one,” Allura said. “The one that makes you think of home.” She’d delighted him with that answer, and even now he was slipping into a mindless babble with a smile on his face that felt private – something only she had the privilege of seeing. 

It was so smooth, slipping off the tip of his tongue and rolling seamlessly into itself in a way that made it seem as if he were sharing something sacred. His voice was warmer and deeper than she was used to hearing it, and his entire demeanor was rich with a strange sort of maturity that she only later realized was a confidence she had never before been privy to. 

He’d done a strange thing with his tongue that made his throat vibrate, and Allura struggled to replicate it. He tried his best to mime that she shouldn’t press her tongue so tightly to the roof of her mouth, but all she had managed to do was puff out her cheeks and blow out hot air. 

Lance pointed at her, wordlessly asking her to take her turn, so Allura began rambling nonsense in Altean. It was a harsher sounding language – words started at the back of the throat and ended sharp and disconnected before rapidly spilling into complicated vowels that made Lance’s eyes go wide. To Allura, Lance always sounded as if he was speaking Altean, so it was funny to see him balk at the words she’d been hearing fall from his lips for months. 

Remembering the purpose of this experiment, Allura swallowed before speaking carefully. “Lance…?” 

Lance spoke all four of his names slowly, emphasizing each syllable so that Allura could repeat them back to him. She still couldn’t produce the trill that had punctuated two portions of his name, but she’d been able to recite the whole thing confidently, earning an applause from Lance in return. 

Allura’s name was harder – it was short for a very old, very long name that belonged to her grandmother. It translated to “ _one who is wise and wondrous.”_ She warned him that it would be difficult to pronounce, but he told her that he didn’t care if it took him hours. He’d learn to say it. 

In the end, it only took  _one_ hour of uninterrupted focus for Lance to finally get it right. It was clumsy and the consonants weren’t as stressed as they should’ve been, but Allura would always remember it as the most thoughtful, heartfelt gesture Lance would ever make. He sighed when he was done, and Allura had to laugh at his visible relief.

Lance traced the shape of her smile with his thumb and whispered under his breath. 

“ _Que bella.”_

Allura wasn’t quite sure what he had said. But judging by the love that had suddenly flooded his gaze, she was able to make a pretty good guess. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [tumblr](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/breeeliss)


	11. "anachronism" | G | 569

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ["anachronism"](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/post/178198439149/anachronism)  
> rating: G  
> wc: 569
> 
> _Lance finds some of Alfor's old Altean wear, and Allura is struck with an idea._

Before they evacuated the castle of lions, Allura took a few pieces of her father’s old formal wear with her. 

They were the clothes he wore when he was a young prince, just shy of the age of majority. He’d given them to her in the hopes that she’d be willing to pass them on to her sons should she choose to have them. At the time, it seemed like a laughably arcane tradition. Allura accepted them out of politeness, doubting her children would prefer to wear styles that were so dated. 

It was a guilty thought now. So she wrapped them up and kept them in the cargo bay of her lion for safe keeping. It wasn’t until after Sendak’s invasion that she’d found them again, wholly unscathed after the crash and still sitting in the stasis units she’d put them in. 

They didn’t look particularly regal hanging in the small closet in her humble barrack, but Allura was glad to have them. 

She’d left the closet door open a crack the next time Lance came to her room, and he’d noticed the golden chest plates glimmering in the dim lighting.

Allura took one outfit out of the closet for him so she could hold it up to the light. Lance marveled at the fabric of the cape and kept running his hands along the jewel encrusted scabbard worth more than any human could ever hope to fathom. 

“Are these rivets supposed to clasp the cape in place?” Lance asked. “And do these gold chains just hang here?” 

“It’s hard to explain if a person isn’t wearing it,” Allura explained. “It’s a bit complex.” 

“I don’t imagine you’d be willing to put it on and show me, huh?”

Allura knew he was only teasing, but she held up the outfit next to Lance and tilted her head. “Actually. I wonder if it would fit you.” 

Lance seemed uncomfortable with the idea of wearing her father’s old clothing at first, but Allura insisted that it would be a fun adventure re-remembering how to fasten all of the adornments her father enjoyed wearing. After he’d slipped into the trousers and tunic, she helped clip on the chest plates and arm guards that ended up fitting perfectly. The blue cape matched his eyes, and the criss-crossing golden chains filled with medallions representing battles won and honors bestowed made Lance’s skin glow. She even stole some of his hair products and slicked his hair back in the style of all the Altean princes from generations past whose names and faces Allura still remembered. 

Lance willed his bayard to take the form of his Altean broadsword and held it in front of him as he gently laid his hands over the hilt. Oh, and he looked breathtaking. Tall, confident, handsome, and perfectly picturesque. As if he were posing for a royal painting or preparing for a coronation. With sharper ears and Altean marks on his cheeks, he'd look like something flung out of the past and renewed as something too dazzling for living eyes. 

He looked like home. 

She hadn’t realized she’d started crying. 

He bit his lip worriedly. “I haven’t made it look awful, have i?” 

Allura cupped his cheeks, beheld the beautiful sincerity of his gaze, and placed a warm kiss on his lips that tasted like the salt from her tears. 

“Never,” she promised him. “You couldn’t be more gorgeous.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [tumblr](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/breeeliss)


	12. "a warrior's ballad" | T | 1913

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ["a warrior's ballad"](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/post/178777655139/one-word-prompts-wither-midnight-flowing-soft)  
> rating: T  
> wc: 1913
> 
>  
> 
> _Post s7. Allura and Lance spend their days together, slowly teaching each other how to heal and love._

**.blood**

There was an old Altean law that prohibited those of noble birth from seeing the color of their own blood. It discouraged harm against the royals and helped to maintain the delicate illusion that they were beings above the laws of nature. 

Invincible. Indelible. Immortal. 

It was long considered obsolete when Allura was a young girl, but her father would remind her of it whenever she would get injured during training. “Shut your eyes,” he’d instruct as he wiped the blood from her skinned knee. “If you don’t see the blood, it’s as if it’s not there.” 

It did more than pull the pain and stop her crying. It forced her to focus in battle. There was no time to worry over injuries. There was only time to complete her missions and emerge victorious. 

So when Allura saw her blood splattered across the inside of her helmet, she shut her eyes tightly and refused. Refused to look, refused to feel, refused to succumb. 

It wasn’t there. The blood. The pain. The water slowly filling the cockpit of her lion. None of it was there. 

* * *

 

**.sway**

When she awoke in the hospital, the entire world shifted, flickered, and floated before sharpening in a burst of pain. A concussion, her doctors said. One that left her quarantined in the dark with blacked out windows and no visitors. 

The isolation made her reckless and pulled her from her bed one morning, but the room swiftly tilted to its side and left her swaying with nothing to hold onto. Allura resigned herself to the ghastly fall until she collapsed straight into a warm chest and a fervent embrace. 

They warned her of the confusion she would suffer. It was likely this body was a doctor. Perhaps it was even the floor turned to flesh by her mind in order to save her from the pain of the fall. 

For now, it looked and felt like Lance. 

She clung to him, her dizziness pulling them back and forth into a disjointed waltz as she whispered into his shoulder. “I didn’t think you’d come to catch me.” 

* * *

 

**.wither**

Having him in bed with her felt like a dream. Time became distorted – constantly blurring, stretching, and compressing. Lance told her it was the morphine and the confusion from the head injury. Allura was only happy that she could fall asleep to the sound of his heartbeat at night. 

They were lying together in darkness as he stroked her hair. “I had to beg on my knees for them to let me see you,” Lance explained. “I told them someone needed to be here. Needed to find you when you woke up.” 

He sounded far away, drifting on a plane of thought she was in too much pain to reach for. Allura ignored the pounding in her temples and did her best to follow. “Why?” 

Lance’s arms tightened. “Because I thought about you alone in your lion. Alone in this room. Thinking that everything you loved had finished withering away.” 

His voice had cracked during his admission, and Allura reached up blindly to cradle his cheek. She tried to hold fast to him, but her hand fell as the drugs pulled her under. He slipped away before she could catch the rest of his words.

* * *

  **.bruises**

Eventually the haze dissipated and all that was left was the pain. 

“Battered” was too a weak descriptor. She felt dilapidated – as if one wrong twist of her body would finish crippling her. 

Lance helped ice her body twice a day in the hopes that the bruising would begin to fade after a couple of weeks. In return, she helped redress the gnarled, angry wounds across his chest from where his shattered armor had dug into his torso during the crash. 

It was usually done in silence, an unspoken decision on their part that made their first aid feel oddly intimate. The shivers she felt when the ice touched her body and when his thumb stroked her neck felt identical – blooming from the same place hidden deep within her. 

Her injuries made her feel raw – a fragile being stripped down to its most basic parts and asked to endure in spite of its weakness. But Lance would take those parts, polish them off with his hands, and breathe life back into them as he pressed one kiss to every single mark on her body. 

“You are impossibly beautiful,” he told her. 

“In spite of the bruises?” 

“No. Because of them.” 

* * *

 

**.midnight**

“Were you afraid?” 

They were lying on their sides, staring at each other with only the moonlight illuminating their faces. This late at night, Allura didn’t need to elaborate on what she was referring to. Lance already knew. 

“No. I was ready. Lately I feel like when I think it’s coming, I’m always ready.” 

“I don’t think I ever could be,” she admitted. “Every time it comes I'm always afraid. I accept it, but I'm always trembling when I do.” 

“There’s this quote from a Peruvian writer. It goes, ‘ _a warrior thinks of death when things become unclear. The idea of death is the only thing that tempers our spirit.’”_  

Allura frowned. “I don’t think I like that at all. There’s too much to lose in death and I have so much I still want to hold onto. Alteans had a different philosophy.” 

“Oh? What was it?” 

“‘ _A warrior does not give up what he loves. He finds the love in what he does_.’”

“In fighting?” 

“No. In those he fights for.” 

* * *

 

**.soft**

They crossed a line one morning. 

Allura woke before Lance and stood by the edge of the bed to undress, thinking she was safe with his back turned towards her. She was standing in her underwear when she felt a hand brush against the flesh of her hip. 

It was a sleep ridden request for her to come back to bed, but he must have belatedly noticed her state of undress because his fingers retracted the moment he blinked to full consciousness. He was in the middle of an apology before Allura grabbed his hand and gently placed it back where it had been. 

She bit her lip and waited, afraid that the move had been too bold. But then she felt Lance’s hand traveling up to the dip of her waist and across her lower back. There were scars and discoloring along its path, but still he muttered under his breath, “So soft…” 

Allura’s whole body shook, and she was afraid that they were toeing closer to an edge that would engulf them if they allowed themselves to fall. The idea wasn’t entirely unpleasant but she could picture how complicated a fall like that would be. How much more hurt was on the line. How their hearts would have to start breaking for two. 

But, oh, to feel his hands on her like this always. To shake around him and let him inside her. It burned a hole of want through her stomach and made her sigh at his touch. 

Eventually, his hands left her and the spell had melted away. He turned to dress and they both said nothing. 

* * *

 

**.flowing**

Life is too short, Allura decided. 

She thought a lot about how minuscule human lifetimes were. The fact that Lance would die hundreds of years before her was the single most painful reality she could ever hope to accept. But the morbidity floated away when she realized how gorgeous it was to watch Lance pack every single second he breathed with meaning. 

His days flowed right into one another, never pausing and never stuttering. He couldn’t afford the wasted moments so he made every single one matter. It’s why his generosity was infectious, why his words were sincere, why his smile was blinding, and why his touch stayed bold and steady. 

It often made her think of what she wanted and what was worth grabbing. Love wasn’t something she felt she could ever be selfish enough to take. There was so much work to be done, so much danger to face, so much more unpredictability that could stand to pull her aspirations out from under her. Love could never thrive being suffocated by all that. 

But Lance found small gaps of freedom amidst his responsibility, and it was those gaps he filled with his love. He showed them to her late at night when they whispered conversations that lasted until the sun came up, and he poured some of it out onto her skin whenever he couldn’t keep his hands away. It warmed her, filled her, made her exhale with hope. 

When Lance dies, Allura knows that his love will be the one thing he takes with him – blessed in his last moments and immortalized with his spirit. 

Yes, Allura decided. Life is indeed too short. 

* * *

**.kiss**

Allura found him sitting on the edge of her bed, pulling off his boots and preparing to turn in for the night. 

She always found time to marvel at how he’d changed – how his shoulders had broadened, how his jaw had sharpened, how his eyes had softened. She couldn’t quite track the slow progression. Rather, it felt like she’d suddenly woken from a sleep and finally found herself able to see clearly for the first time. And Lance was so clear before her now. Rendered in perfect detail. Permanent. Stamped in her heart forever. Thoroughly inextricable. 

She crawled onto the bed behind him. He paused his movement when he heard the mattress creak and calmly waited for her next move. Nothing at that point had been planned, so Allura followed the pull of her want. She brushed away his hair – grown out long for forgetting to cut it – and pressed one soft kiss to the nape of his neck. 

Lance’s fingers curled into the sheets below him, and her kisses kept traveling. His jaw. His cheek. The corner of his mouth. Until finally his head turned, and his eyes were brimming with affection for her. 

He met her halfway, and suddenly all Allura knew were Lance’s lips, Lance’s groans, and Lance’s hands slowly lowering her onto their bed. 

* * *

 

**.glow**

_“Wait,” she gasped. “Go slower. Move slower.”_

_Lance’s hips stilled, lip trembling as he slid his hand up her thigh. “Am I hurting you?”_

_“No.” Her body moved with his, urging him forward again. “I want to see your face. Watch it change.”  
_

_He obliged, shifting against her, pulling out so slowly she could feel every inch of him leave her before rushing back in. “How is it changing?”_

_Allura kissed him, whispering against his lips. “I swear it’s like you’re glowing.”_

* * *

 

_._ **dawn**

Lance still glowed the morning after, face haloed by the warm rush of dawn peeking through their bedroom window. 

Allura traced his lips with tips of her fingers before licking along the lines they followed. He woke to her kiss and pulled her tight against him, feeling him surround her just as fiercely as he had last night. 

Their limbs were tangled in the bedsheets and he laughed into her neck when he couldn’t hope to free himself. “I hope i wake up like this every morning until the day I die,” he said. 

Allura smiled into the kiss she left on his chest, just over the warmth of his heart. “You always will,” she told him. “I swear it.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [tumblr](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/breeeliss)


	13. "exertion" | G | 1480

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ["exertion"](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/post/178999333559/exertion)  
> rating: G  
> wc: 1480
> 
> _Allura helps Lance train with his broadsword._

“Agh, okay, time! Time out!” 

Allura dropped her staff and slicked back the baby hairs that had come out of her bun. “Oh you baby, I almost had you.” 

Lance scoffed, resting his hands on his knees and gulping in lungfuls of air as he let his broadsword clatter to the ground. “You…almost… _killed me.”_

“Oh please, don’t you think you’re exaggerating just a bit?” 

“A _m I!?”_  

Allura rolled her eyes. “Alright, I might’ve gotten a bit close to your head there.” 

“You almost lobbed it off!” 

“Aw, but you blocked it! You’re getting so much better at handling that sword. I’m so impressed with you.” 

Lance held a finger up at her. “Stop making me forget to be mad at you by complimenting me. That’s foul play. Fluttering your lashes is an illegal move, I’m calling it.” 

Allura made a show of looking put out. “Shoot. That was going to be my finishing blow. Now what’ll I do?” 

He pouted his lips as he collapsed onto the floor. “Could I get some water please?” 

She picked up a water bottle from the corner of the training room and threw it at him. “We’ll take a couple of minutes to catch our breath but then it’s back up again. You have to build up your endurance fighting with that sword.” 

Lance poured the water into his mouth before letting it spill all over his face. “I don’t have the Altean biology to fight with this thing…” 

“Nonsense,” Allura waved off. “I talked with Shiro. Your history is filled with humans who fought with swords just like this. It’s all a matter of getting in the correct headspace and training in the correct way.” 

“Allura, those men were probably monsters. And, don’t get me wrong, I’m ridiculously hot, but I’m not that buff.” 

Allura leaned over and squeezed Lance’s bicep. “I don’t know. You’ve been filling out quite a bit lately. Your tank tops are actually starting to look tight on you. Are you doing the arm and chest exercises I’ve been telling you to?” 

“Everyday.” 

“And you’re running?” 

“Four miles a day.” 

“And isn’t it easier to lift and wield the sword?”

Lance narrowed his eyes at her. “I know you’re trying to use logic to prove your point, but I’m going to keep pouting.” 

Allura smirked. “What were your exact words to me? ‘I’ll do it so long as it turns me into a motherfucking beefcake like Shiro’?” 

Lance grinned. “Okay, first of all, you cursing like a human is adorable. Second of all, how dare you repeat that, it was said in confidence. And don’t tell Shiro I said that!” 

“What? Don’t tell Shiro that you called him a beefcake? That’s a very high standard to hold me to. Probably not wise. I am seeing him later.” 

“Allura, stop!” 

She stuck her tongue and picked up her staff. “Come on! Up you get! One more go and then we can stop for lunch. I know you can do it.” 

Lance wiped his forehead with the edge of his tank top, muscles flexing just before hefting the sword up and slipping down into a solid stance. He saw Allura staring at his feet before he widened it and waited for her nod of approval. Admittedly, the broadsword training that her father had put her through was a little bit fuzzy, but she knew enough to bring him through basic stances and get him to hold his own during a fight. The rest would surely come with practice and instinct. 

Allura waited for him to make the first move. He clutched the grip with both hands and swung the sword over his head so quick that Allura actually struggled to bring her staff up quick enough to block the blow. They smirked at each other for a moment before Allura shoved him off, twirled her staff over her shoulders, and tried to sweep his feet out from underneath him. The first time she tried that on him, he landed roughly on his back and couldn’t train for the rest of the day. But he was getting quicker now, already rolling out of the way and bringing his sword up to block her next blow. 

He was awfully hard on himself, Allura realized. He had a habit of comparing himself to others instead of measuring his improvement by tracking where he started and where he was now. Obviously Lance was never going to be on the level of traditional Altean warriors who were stronger, older, and had trained for deca-phoebs longer than he had. But the amount of progress he’d made just by training with Allura every day for a couple of months was ridiculously impressive. Allura didn’t expect a human to handle such a weapon so gracefully. It was like Lance was meant to wield it, and she hoped he realized that. 

It wasn’t easy for a human to make her put in enough effort to break a sweat. 

They kept parrying back and forth for a few more minutes before Allura tired him out – he hesitated for a moment when his sword ended up getting too heavy, and she used the opening to shove her staff under his chin and get him to yield. Lance’s arms were shaking from exertion as he dropped his sword and lifted his hands. “Admit it. I had you against the ropes for a second there.” 

“You’re adorable,” she teased. “But you’re not that good yet.” 

Lance shook out his arms. “God, they’re tingling! I think I overworked them.” 

“Just means the blood’s flowing. Give yourself a second.” 

Lance pouted and draped his arms over her shoulders. “Oh God Allura. I think they’ve stopped working. They’ve got a mind of their own.” 

Allura laughed as he backed them up against the wall. “Lance, stop it, you’re going to make me trip!” 

“Oh golly gee, I think my legs are going, too. Allura, help, it’s like my limbs have a mind of their own!” 

His arms curled around her neck and she felt her back collide with the wall as he hung off of her like a child. “You’re such a baby,” she scolded gently. “I’m all sweaty, get off of me.” 

“What, and I’m not? We’ve been sweating on top of each other all morning. Maybe I want a hug.” 

Allura pet the top of his head. “I’m more than happy to give you all the hugs you want when I’m clean and showered.” 

Lance hummed and yanked Allura down by her neck until they were sliding down and sitting on the floor. “No. I want a hug now. You can shower later.” 

“I probably smell, Lance.” 

“You smell perfect.” 

“ _Lance_ …” 

“What?” he laughed, resting their foreheads together. “Stop worrying so much, just sit with me. I’m tired and I don’t feel like getting up.” 

“Tired you out that much, huh?” 

Lance sighed. “You always tire me out. Staring at you takes all the breath out of my body and I get all lightheaded. I don’t know how I survive.” 

Allura rested her hands on his biceps, ignoring how indulgent it must have seemed. “You’re too smooth for your own good.”

His nose brushed her own and his head tilted slightly. “I’m only this smooth around you.” 

She bit her lip and placed a short kiss on the corner of his mouth. “Don’t I feel special.” 

“You should. This is Grade-A material I’m handing you.” 

“Oh dear, I might swoon.” 

“Are you swooning right now?” 

Allura giggled. “A little bit. Will you catch me?” 

She fell against his lips, and Lance’s arms slid down to cup her jaw and pull her against him. All the giddy laughter made their teeth clash and turned the kiss awkward, but Lance stroked her cheeks and slowed it down until she was sighing into his mouth. In the back of her head, she knew that they only had the room for a few more minutes which meant anyone could catch them like this, but she was too busy letting Lance coax her into his lap to bother. It wasn’t until Lance bit down on her bottom lip and made her moan loudly into the open room that Lance pulled back in a fit of giggles. 

“Maybe we should go.” 

“Can we go shower  _now?”_  Allura pleaded. “I want to be clean before lunch.” 

“But I don’t wanna leave you…” 

Allura looked away. “I mean…you could maybe come use mine…if you wanted.” 

Lance’s grin turned wolfish. “Are you asking me to shower with you?” 

Allura smacked his shoulder. “Shut up! Don’t make fun of me.” 

“No, I’d love to,” Lance assured. “Sounds like fun. I take really long, hot showers. I hope that’s okay with you.” 

Allura gave him three quick pecks. “Of course. Should leave us plenty of time for other things.” 

Lance winked. “Race you?” 

“You’re on.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [tumblr](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/breeeliss)


	14. "wedding plans" | G | 1917

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ["wedding plans"](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/post/179847230864/bursts-into-your-inbox-wedding-we-could-all)  
> rating: G  
> wc: 1917
> 
>  
> 
> _At a certain point, pillowtalk will inevitably include some future wedding planning._

“Lance what are human weddings like?” 

He was just on the edge of sleep when Allura asked, the hand stroking her hair having stopped a while ago when his breathing deepened. But her whispered question pulled him awake as he tightened the arm around her waist. “Mmwha was tha’?” 

“Weddings,” Allura giggled. “Tell me about weddings.” 

Lance craned his neck to stare at the clock on his bedside table. “Now? Naked in bed at two in the morning?” 

Allura walked her fingers across his pectorals. “I can’t sleep. I’m still trembling from earlier.” 

“Really? That good, huh?” 

She gently smacked his shoulder as his whole body shook with laughter. “Oh shut up. I’m not the one who fell asleep right afterwards. Tired you out, did I?” 

“Never. I’ll always have enough energy for you. And I did  _not_  fall asleep, I was just catching my breath. I’m a healthy virile young man, thank you very much.” 

Allura snorted. “You’re a pussycat, Lance. Scratch behind your ears just the right way and you’ll melt. You’re very easy to please.” 

“How dare. So rude.” 

She kissed him on the tip of his nose before settling in between his legs and resting her chin on his chest. “You’re avoiding my question.” 

“I mean there are a lot of different types of human weddings. Culturally different, you know? You have to be more specific.” 

“Alright, Cuban weddings then.” 

"Are you doing research for anything I should know about?” 

Allura nibbled on her lip. “Nothing specific, I just…well I don’t know. I just got to thinking that when we got married – ”

“ _When?_ ” Lance grinned. “Not ‘if’?” 

She averted her gaze, but not before he pressed two quick kisses to her embarrassed smile. “You know what I mean! Stop teasing.” 

“I’m not teasing. It just makes me happy hearing you talk about our wedding as a thing that’ll definitely happen as opposed to something that might happen.” 

“Well of course. Obviously not now, but I like the thought of us eventually doing it. It feels like such a natural next breath for the two of us. But we’re talking a multispecies wedding, so some thought should be put into it. It’s never too early for that.” 

Lance smiled. “Well I’ve been thinking about our wedding since the day you agreed to go out with me.” 

Allura winked. “Of course you have. Now come on! Weddings!” 

“Be more specific! What do you want to know?” 

“How do engagements work? Do you exchange tokens?” 

Lance nodded and ran finger down her left ring finger. “We do rings. So during a proposal you would kneel in front of the person you’re proposing to, present them the ring, and hope they say yes. It’s supposed to be a really spontaneous thing. The point is to surprise the person you’re proposing to. But that’s just the engagement ring. During a wedding ceremony, you both exchange weddings bands on top of that.” 

Allura held her left hand out in front of her. “We don’t exchange anything physical. We do tattoos.” 

“Like permanent ones?” 

“Yes. So you have to actually plan a proposal and tell the person in advance. It definitely isn’t spontaneous. You have to agree on a mark that you feel represents your relationship. Some people choose old Altean symbols, some people do pictures, some do sayings or words, it all depends. Each of you tattoo half that mark in the inside of your right wrists to complete the engagement ceremony. Then during the wedding ceremony, you complete each other’s marks in front of witnesses.” 

Lance’s brows went up. “That’s intense. What happens if you separate?” 

“We’re encouraged to marry for life, but if a separation happens you just get the marks removed. It’s a bit of a laborious process though.” 

Lance curled a piece of Allura’s hair around his finger. “I actually like that more than the ring. It’s more personal and doesn’t involve shelling out a ridiculous amount of money. You ever put any thought into what you’d want your mark to be?” 

"Not really. Marriage was never on my mind until now. I’ve always thought having a picture as an engagement mark and having a quote be the finishing touch during a wedding ceremony. It’d sort of leave some anticipation leading up to the actual marriage. But who knows?”

“What are Altean wedding ceremonies like?” Lance asked. 

“Well, both the bride and the groom wear blue to symbolize their unending loyalty to each other. They stand before a room of witnesses and a wedding officiant and recite their vows to one another. Then the tattooing ceremony. After that it’s different depending on what part of Altea you’re from. I’m from the south of the main continent so there we do the hourglass ceremony.” 

“And what’s that?” 

Allura took Lance’s hand and gently laid hers on top of his. “So we both pour different colored vials of sand into an empty hourglass and let it run all the way to the bottom. The point is that no matter how many times the sand runs out, the grains will never be separated. It’s meant to show how your love isn’t contained within the bounds of time. It’s limitless. As all love should be.” 

Lance closed his fingers around her hand and pressed kisses to the knuckles. “That’s gorgeous. I don’t think we do anything nearly that intimate.” 

“Are human ceremonies different?” 

Lance squinted at the ceiling and started tracing shapes on her bare back. “Well, brides wear white dresses and the grooms wear black tuxes. Ah, that’s formal wear for men,” he explained when Allura tilted her head. “You typically have a wedding party filled with friends and family that are there for you during the ceremony. The groom stands at the front with the wedding officiant and waits for the bride to enter, usually with her father, brother, or some other important male figure. Then when the ceremony starts, the bride and groom recite their vows, exchange weddings rings, kiss, and then that’s it.”

“Why white and black for the bride and groom?” 

“Brides used to wear white to symbolize their virginity, but I think it’s just done for tradition nowadays. Definitely not a requirement.” 

Allura wrinkled her nose. “That’s so distasteful!” 

“I mean the reason fathers typically walk their brides down the aisle is because it’s meant to symbolize giving their daughters away. Because daughters used to be the property of their fathers up until they got married and became the property of their husbands.” 

“Lance that’s positively primitive and completely sexist. You do that for tradition’s sake?” 

“I mean not everyone does. My family tends to be pretty traditional about that sort of thing. But I also had a cousin who walked herself down the aisle and wore a champagne dress. You can pretty much do whatever you want for your wedding. What matters is the ceremony part. You know, the vows and stuff. Your promises to each other in life and in death. Everything else is just fluff.” 

“I do like that we have that in common,” she conceded. “Preparing your own vows of commitment to each other.” 

“Look at that, we decided on one thing,” Lance laughed. “I like the idea of the tattoos and the hourglass ceremony. We should do that. That’s part of your culture and I want to celebrate that with you. I’ll probably still get you a ring though. I’ve been dreaming of buying a girl her engagement ring since I was a kid.” 

Allura blushed. “I mean I wouldn’t complain about that. I also don’t mind you wearing human formal wear. But I’d love to at least wear a blue dress.” 

“Of course! You in a blue wedding dress would be stunning.” 

Allura perked up. “Ooh! Do you celebrate afterwards? What does that look like?” 

Lance cackled. “Oh god, it’s like one huge party. We’re cuban so we invite as many people as physically possible. There’s always a crap ton of Cuban food and a huge wedding cake. Lots of music and drinking and dancing. You always have one aunt from somewhere that starts the  _rueda_  at weddings. We also do this really fun thing where any man who gets to dance with the bride has to pin money to her dress to help with wedding expenses. Oh, and they go until super late too and everyone always goes home drunk.” 

“Is a  _rueda_  a kind of dance?” 

“Yeah, it’s basically a form of salsa. Sorry, if you’re gonna marry me, you need to learn salsa. That’s a requirement.” 

“Alright, fair enough,” Allura said. “But then you have to learn Altean ballroom dancing.” 

“Only if you teach me.” 

“Oh no, I don’t know how the male parts of the dance work. You should get Coran to teach you.” 

Lance frowned. “What? Why? If I’m teaching you salsa why does Coran have to each me Altean ballroom?” 

“Because I don’t know how to lead and you’d have to be taught how to lead. I only know how to dance the girl parts.” 

“Aw, Allura! That totally sucks! You have to teach me otherwise it won’t be any fun. Coran is probably gonna be so extra about it.” 

“I mean true but at least you’ll be in good hands. And I’ll be on the sidelines cheering you on and staying very far away from you both!” 

Lance dug his fingers into Allura’s sides and tickled her until she started laughing into the crook of his neck. “You’re the worst.” 

She kissed his neck and whispered against the shell of his ear. “You love me.” 

"So much it hurts,” he agreed. 

Allura relaxed against him, staring out at the windows that they’d left open to let in the evening summer breeze. “We’re disgustingly compatible, that was far too easy. We have to argue about something. What cake flavors do you want?” 

“It’d have to be earth flavors, so whichever one you wanted.” 

“Color scheme?” 

“Up to you.”

“Party favors for guests?” 

“You can pick.” 

Allura flicked him on the nose and smiled through her complaint. “Lance stop deferring to me!” 

“What?” he chuckled. “I don’t care what our wedding looks like so long as you’re the one I’m marrying. You know that.” 

Allura hid behind her hair. “Stop being adorable, I’m trying to plan a wedding.” 

“I’m not impeding you from doing that! I’m serious, have full reign. I’ll taste and look at every suggestion you come up with, but we can do whatever you want. Start writing things down so we don’t forget and we’ll take it a step at a time.” 

“So….we’re really planning this?” 

Lance shrugged with a dopey smile on his face. “I mean doesn’t hurt to be prepared, right?” 

Allura matched the smile and learned in for another kiss, this one lingering and lasting long enough to warm her body all the way down to her toes. “Right you are.” 

Lance sighed against her lips. “I feel like I’m dreaming.” 

“Hold onto that feeling while you still can. Wedding planning will quickly turn into a nightmare.” 

“No, learning ballroom dancing from Coran will be a nightmare.” 

“You’re doing it Lance.” 

“I really think you could teach me if you just tried – ” 

“Lance I’m not doing it!” 

“Please?” 

“I’m telling Coran you have no faith in him.” 

“Feel free, I stand by my choice, I want you teaching me!” 

“I don’t know how, I’m sorry!” 

“Allura, come on!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [tumblr](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/breeeliss)


	15. "playing nurse" | T | 565

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ["playing nurse"](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/post/181064326904/one-of-them-is-hurt-and-the-other-has-to-play)   
> rating: T  
> wc: 565
> 
> _Allura has some opinions about human first aid._

“This is quite possibly the most primitive ordeal you’ve ever forced me to endure, and I will never forget this day.” 

Lance snorted, wiping up the last of the blood that had dripped down Allura’s cheek. “Good Lord, and you call  _me_  the drama queen.” 

Allura wanted to scowl, but furrowing her brows made the gash over her eye stretch uncomfortably and send more pain bursting through her temple. “I don’t understand how humans don’t possess any sort of medicinal substance that can close wounds. They’re included in all Altean emergency med kits.” 

“Hey, don’t ask me, I’m not a scientist or a doctor.” 

“That’s not comforting considering you’re holding a needle in your hand.” 

He kissed her forehead and used the tissue forceps to hold the gash closed. “Relax, I had to go through military first aid training to get into the fighter pilot class. I’ve done this before, you’ll be in good hands.” 

Allura bounced her knees. “It’s going to  _hurt!”_

Lance pulled his chair closer to her and picked up the needle with the needle driver. “Only for a little bit. It’s like getting a tattoo. The pain sort of melts away and you’ll get used to it. And I’ll be really quick.” 

“You don’t have a tattoo so you have no idea if that’s actually true.” 

“Do you want me to comfort you or not?” 

Allura winced as he brought the needle over her eye and started to adjust the positioning. “Sorry. I just don’t like this.” 

“Can’t you use your crazy Altean alchemy powers to patch yourself up?” 

“That’s not how they work, Lance.” 

“Then I guess you’re stuck with me. Look, take a deep breath and sit up straight. Keep breathing.” 

“Okay, okay.” 

Lance nudged her hand with his knee. “Here, grab my thigh and squeeze as hard as you can,” he told her. “On the count of three, alright?” 

Allura nodded and counted out loud until she felt a sharp pinch right underneath her brow. She gripped Lance’s leg and let out a loud human curse that she learned from Lance, but he pulled it through her skin quickly and tightened the thread enough to start closing up the wound. Allura was anxiously tapping her feet on the ground, and Lance tried his hardest not to laugh. “Calm down, you’re doing great. And don’t scrunch up your face or you’ll make it come out lopsided.” 

She yelped out in pain when he pushed the needle through again. “Oooooo, I hate you, I hate you.” 

Lance winked. “Love you too.” 

Allura grumbled, “Next time you do something like break a bone I’m just going to kick it until it goes back into place.” 

“That’s actually not too far from what we actually do,” Lance snorted. “We set broken bones back into place before we cast them. So you’d actually be doing me a favor.” 

“Oh quiznack,” Allura groaned. “Stop talking. I think I’m going to be sick.” 

Lance laughed, keeping his fingers steady as he worked. “I guess I’m going to have to do a better job of making sure you don’t get hurt on the field again. I have a feeling my wellbeing depends on it.” 

Allura smirked. “You’ll get the full brunt of my wrath once you’re done.” 

“Mm, yummy. Can’t wait~” 

“Lance! Shut up!” 

“Stop moving! Or I’m going to take out something important by accident!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [tumblr](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/breeeliss)


	16. "a gift and a kiss" | G | 2728

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ["a gift and a kiss"](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/post/181096255194/fun-fact-best-part-by-her-just-so-happened-to)  
> rating: G  
> wc: 2728
> 
>  
> 
> _Allura and Lance spend a quiet Christmas together._

The history behind Christmas had admittedly gone over Allura’s head when Lance tried to explain it. Stories of immaculately conceived saviors born from virgins turned into saints visiting children to deliver toys which then turned into a lengthy rant about something called late stage capitalism. It was all rather convoluted in her opinion, but she’d gotten the basics down. 

Lights hanging from the ceilings, trees decorated with baubles and ribbons, strange green plants woven into wreaths and hung on the walls, lots of sweets, and of course presents. 

At Veronica’s insistence, Allura had celebrated the evening before the Christmas holiday with Lance’s family. They were packed tightly into the family’s barracks and there was barely enough space to move around the makeshift dinner table they’d created, but they were able to get by. Lance’s mother was a phenomenal cook, and she’d insisted on giving Allura a gorgeous hair brush set that she’d kept safe while she was out scouring for supplies with her husband. 

Lance’s niece and nephew made her a chain of paper snowflakes to hang on her wall, Veronica had given her a music player filled with some of her and Lance’s favorite songs, and Lance’s two brothers had pitched in to make her a makeshift vanity table for her room in order to make it a little more homey. 

There wasn’t much that Allura had left in the way of Altean gifts, but she’d managed to make it work – a fake magic show for the kids using some simple Altean alchemy, some old Altean dresses she had stored away in her lion for Lance’s mother, an antique blade set she’d bought off an Unilu stand for Veronica, and some spare Altean communicators for Lance’s brothers since they’d been in the habit of frequently stealing Lance’s. 

She was most nervous about Lance’s present, wrapped crudely in whatever spare decorative paper she could find lying around and tied off with a ribbon that she’d pulled off the family’s Christmas tree. But right as she was about to give it to Lance, he held a finger up to his lips and jutted his chin towards the door. 

“Is something wrong?” she whispered. 

Lance put an arm around Allura’s shoulder and led her out into the hall, ignoring Veronica’s shit eating grin from across the room. Allura noticed that he was holding a black box behind his back and was angling his body in a way so that she wouldn’t be able to get a good look at it. “No, nothing at all. Just that everyone was getting a little loud and I thought we could just get away from it for a bit.” 

“I don’t mind,” Allura promised. “I think your family is absolutely charming.” 

Lance laughed. “Yeah, that’s definitely a word for them alright. But I was gonna head to one of the common areas for a bit if you wanted to join me.” 

Allura snuggled into his side and wrapped an arm around his waist. “Of course.” 

Most everyone was in the mess hall turned Christmas extravaganza where tables had been pushed aside, decorations had been erected, and music was blasting loud enough for it to echo two stories high. It was a great morale boost and ended up being a perfect way to break the ice amongst all the new rebel forces that had come to Earth. But that meant that all of the smaller common areas on the floors above were practically empty, and Lance led them to one that had an entire wall of windows overlooking the desert just outside the Garrison campus. 

Lance sat on one of the windowsills and left space across from himself for Allura to sit, but she ended up settling herself in between his legs with her back pressed up against his chest. She took his arms and wrapped them around her shoulders. “Is this okay?

He bit his lip and hesitated before resting his chin on the top of her heard. “Yeah, of course. You comfy?” 

“Your sweater is twice the size you are, so I’d say it’s a rather comfy pillow.” 

“Shut up,” he smiled. “Mom made it for me and started getting pissy when I wouldn’t wear it. Besides, she made you the same one!” 

Allura pulled at the red sweater that had a huge green Christmas bow garishly glued right to the front. “I’m trying to embrace your customs. Pidge told me that unappealing clothing was part of the charm.” 

“You mean ugly sweaters?” 

“Yes! That’s it!” 

“You know yours kinda makes you look like a Christmas present.” 

Allura tilted her head back. “A beautifully wrapped Christmas present i hope.” 

Lance laughed. “Oh of course,  _obviously_.” 

“At least mine looks nicer than that deformed Yelmore you have on yours.” 

“For the last time, it’s called a  _reindeer_.” 

“And they  _don’t_  fly?” 

“No. Only in children’s stories about Santa Claus. You know, the deranged old man that breaks and enters people’s homes in order to leave them presents?” 

“Are you going to keep making fun of me for that? I don’t understand it! What use is it making children believe a stranger is giving them all of their presents as opposed to their own family?” 

“I don’t know. Why don’t you take it up with the National Christmas Committee?” 

“Did you know sarcasm is very unattractive on you?” 

“Does that mean I’m attractive when I’m  _not_  being sarcastic?” 

Allura flicked the side of his nose. “Nice try.” 

“Almost got you!” Lance leered. “I’ll get you to admit I’m irresistible one day.” 

“In your dreams.” 

The flood lights lining the Garrison campus had long been turned off outside, which meant the room they were in was dark save for the multicolored Christmas lights lining the walls and casting fractals of light onto their faces. She settled further into him and pulled one of her arms closer around her. “You must have missed so many Christmases while you were away from home,” she muttered. 

“A few for sure,” Lance answered. “But it’s okay. The decorations and presents don’t really matter as much as getting to spend time with your friends and family. So in a way I didn’t really miss Christmas at all because I spent them all with you guys.” 

“Still, there’s something about this that feels so comforting,” Allura said. “Like you feel safe and warm tucked into a little corner in the world no one else can touch. I understand why everyone thought it would be good to celebrate right now.” 

“Yeah. Something about Christmas puts a lot of people at ease, even if they don’t celebrate. It’s hard to feel alone when you’re surrounded by so much, you know?”

Allura hummed. “I really like it.” 

Lance jolted in his seat and reached for the box that he’d left sitting next to the window. “Oh crap. I forgot to give you your present.” 

Allura blinked as he placed it in her hands. “…You got me something?” 

“Why do you sound so surprised?” he teased. “Like you wouldn’t be one of the first people I shopped for. I was going to give it to you during dinner but I thought it might be better if we did it alone.” 

“Now you’re making me nervous.” 

“No, no, don’t be nervous, it’s nothing bad. At least I hope not. I’ve been hiding this in Romelle’s room for weeks because I was afraid of you seeing it. I didn’t want to ruin the surprise.” 

It was long and flat, no bigger than two hand lengths and locked shut with a golden latch along the front. “Nothing’s going to jump out at me is it?” 

“Not in the way that you think…” 

Allura frowned at the cryptic answer, but she undid the latch and slowly cracked the lid open. 

The first thing Allura was struck by was the glittering pink jewels that had started to sparkle against the glow of the Christmas lights over her head. At first she thought it was a set of jewelry since she’d been mentioning to Romelle she’d been vapidly wishing for some now that talks of presents had started to fill the air. But it wasn’t jewelry at all, at least not quite. It was a solid gold Altean diadem, lined in pale pink jewels and set with a small Balmeran crystal right in the center. Allura gasped as she ran her fingers over the smooth craftsmanship and gently lifted it out of it’s plush casing. “Lance…” 

He rubbed the back of his neck. “Coran let it slip that this decaphoeb would’ve been when you reached the age of majority. You know, to start ruling Altea in your own right? He told me that you would’ve had to get a new crown commissioned for your coronation, and since you gave up your last one to help with Shiro’s arm, I thought i’d get you a new one. You know, the one your father would’ve passed onto you during your coronation.” 

Allura felt tears pushing against the backs of her eyes. “Lance…this is gorgeous, I can’t even…how did you even do this, I’m…” 

“Well Coran helped a lot,” Lance said. “Told me what types of designs would look best. But I picked the morganites. I know what pink means to Alteans and I thought it felt appropriate. But if you don’t like it I can always try and get another one made for you.” 

“No, no, don’t, it’s perfect!” Allura insisted. She lifted it to her forehead and laughed when it ended up fitting perfectly. Coran must have still had her old crown measurements saved. She smiled widely and turned her head side to side so that the jewels would glimmer in the light. “How does it look?” 

She saw Lance’s smile warm his gaze and blush his cheeks. “Stunning. Just like I thought it would be.” 

Sllura pressed a hand to her heart and felt it race in her chest. “Lance, thank you. Really really thank you, this is…possibly the most thoughtful thing anyone has ever gotten me. I hope it didn’t cost you much.” 

Lance waved away the concern. “Don’t you worry. Coran and I are great hecklers. It ended up being worth every gac.” 

Allura pouted and pulled the small box out of her pocket. “I feel awful. My present for you isn’t nearly as good.” 

“You got me something?” he perked up. 

“I mean, it’s just a small thing,” she said, placing the wrapped gift in the palm of Lance’s hand. “I had Veronica help me a little bit because I was going back and forth on what to get for you.” 

Lance carefully pulled away the paper, unboxed the gift, and pulled out an unassuming flat piece of metal. He turned it over in his hands a few time and frowned. “Am I missing something?” 

Allura laughed and pointed to the underside. “It’s a holopicture. I have one that’s just an album of photos of me and my parents. Flip the switch on the bottom and it should turn on.” 

Lance did as he was told and watched the holo light flicker above the disc for a few minutes before it sharpened into a clear picture. For a moment it didn’t look as if he understood what he was staring at, but then his eyes widened as his hand came to cover his mouth. “Oh my god, this is…” 

“Apparently one of your communication networks was completely compromised when the Galra attacked. The Internet I think it was called? But a lot of your personal photos were lost when that happened. Veronica said she was able to pull some of them off and save them before anything was lost forever, but she didn’t know how to keep them safe for you. So I thought this would be nice for you to have.” 

Lance slowly started to swipe through all of the photos in the album – ones from high school, from their vacations to Cuba, birthday parties, block parties, graduations, quinces, and even a few videos that had lance chortling into his hands and trying his hardest not to cry in front of her. “I thought for sure I had lost all of these…..how many are in here?” 

“Well over a thousand,” Allura said. “You had a lot of pictures. I don’t think we were able to get all of them unfortunately, but I thought this would be a good collection. And it’s small enough that you can take it on missions in case you’re feeling homesick.” 

Lance was grinning at the sight of a picture of him when he was six years old and showing off the two front teeth that he had missing. “Allura this is a perfect present. Seriously, I can’t even believe you were able to get these for me.” 

“Of course I did,” she smiled. “It wasn’t easy to transfer them over, but I wanted to figure it out for you. I’m glad you like it.” 

He was still staring down at the holograms in disbelief until he stared at Allura with a gleam of mischief in his eyes. Allura didn’t have time to react before he jumped from his seat, scooped Allura up in his arms, and bridal carried her across the room while he spun her in circles and laughed into her hair. 

Allura squealed and wrapped her arms tightly around Lance’s neck so that she wouldn’t fall. “What are you doing?” she laughed. 

Lance stopped, stared down at her, and left a long, warm kiss on her forehead. “Nothing,” he sighed. “Just happy. You always make me happy, but this is more than I could’ve asked for.” 

“I do try to exceed expectations,” she teased. 

He was staring at her for a moment as if there was something that he wanted to say and was too afraid to vocalize. She could feel his fingers readjusting their grip on her and she was about to ask him what was wrong before she noticed something hanging just above the doorway they were standing under. “What’s that?” 

Lance looked up, and Allura watched as his entire face went red. “O-Oh, um. That’s nothing. Just a decoration.” 

“Why do you look so nervous? What is it?” 

“Ahhh, it’s a plant called a mistletoe,” he explained. “There’s this silly tradition where any two people caught standing underneath one have to kiss. But it’s kind of weird and I don’t think people really take it seriously anymore.” 

Allura played with the hairs on the back of his neck. “What do you mean? That sounds charming.” 

“I just don’t wanna make you uncomfortable or anything.” 

Allura raised a brow and turned Lance’s chin towards her. “Why would you think you’d make me uncomfortable?” 

Lance swallowed. “I-I don’t know. Last time I tried to kiss you I ended up kissing Platt instead.” 

“Admit it, you deserved that.” 

“Alright, fair enough.” 

“Here,” she said, tilting her head up and running a finger along his bottom lip. “Try again. I promise I won’t play any tricks.” 

“You don’t have to you know…” 

“Hey now,” she said. “I’ve committed myself to fully embracing this Earth holiday with you. I intend to follow all the rules and celebrate properly.” 

Lance rested his forehead against hers. “Well, since you insisted…”

Allura felt like a little girl when he finally kissed her – popping one of her feet into the air and curling her toes against the onslaught of pure elation that had flooded her so suddenly. Then everything melted into warm glow that filled her chest and left her sighing into his mouth every time their lips separated to reconnect again. Everything about him in that moment created such a darling image, including the way he curled the ends of her hair around his fingers and gently swayed them back and forth into a gentle waltz until they broke apart. Lance was the one to open his eyes first, and perhaps it was just a surge of pure untapped happiness that made him laugh at the same moment she did. 

It wasn’t often that someone else could make her feel this weightless. 

She tapped the end of his nose and left him one last peck on the lips. “Merry Christmas, Lance. I hope you have so many more just like this one.” 

Lance kissed her back. “As long as you’re there, they will be.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [tumblr](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/breeeliss)


	17. "a quiet morning" | G | 607

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ["a quiet morning"](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/post/181126449519/allurance-prompt-allura-caught-watching-lance)  
> rating: G  
> wc: 607
> 
> _Allura can't help but take short moments in her day to marvel at how beautiful Lance is._

Lance looks like he’s been dipped in sunshine. 

He always gets up earlier than she does – stretching by the open windows, watering the plants he keeps around his room, pulling out his dogeared journals, and humming to himself while he scribbles his thoughts. Allura usually wakes to his kisses that pull her from the covers and straight into his arms, and some days he’ll even carry her to the windows with him once the sun finishes peeking out from behind the mountainside. 

But today her eyes flutter open while the sky is still red, and the glow from the sunrise leaves Lance floating in a heavenly silhouette that makes her gasp into the covers she has pulled up to her nose. He doesn’t hear the noise – he’s concentrated, chewing on the end of his pencil and considering the words he’s laying out in front of him – so she takes a moment to drink him in. Revel in the soft stillness and watch him as he exists. 

Lance’s hair curls softly at the edges when he’s slept on it for hours, and Allura has to stop herself from reaching out and trapping one of them around her fingers. He bites his lips when he writes, and memories of their nights together start rolling back into her and making her chest flush. She wants to run her lips along his smile and feel his fingertips press into her back as he collects her into his lap and whispers secrets on her skin. His shy confessions always leave her dizzy. 

And,  _oh,_ his skin. It’s golden, smooth, peppered with the lipstick marks she’d left on his shoulders as they collapsed into his room last night – giggling, spinning, and shedding their clothes in a flurry. Allura doesn’t own very many things that she can call her own. Aacrifice has stripped her bare and left her with only the essentials, no luxuries or indulgences. Except Lance. He’s the one thing she can mark and keep and kiss and love until they’re old and withered, until the world stops and they still continue. 

Lance smiles at something he’s written down and Allura feels her cheeks match. He’s so beautiful, she thinks. And he’s hers. Every inch of him is an open book that she’s slowly memorizing the words to. It’s a slow process, but one that leaves her with an adventure at every turn of the page. Every day something new. She burst at the seams with excitement every time she wakes in the mornings and sees him. His smile turns the world for her. 

Allura laughs softly and it’s only then that he turns and sees her peeking shyly out from under the blankets. Lance’s eyes soften as his fingers card through her hair and stroke the swell of her cheek. “Is there something on my face?” he jokes. 

“No,” Allura promises. “Sorry, I was watching and got lost in thought.” 

“Were they good thoughts?” 

Allura smiles sleepily. “They’re always wonderful thoughts.” 

Lance lays his pen in his book and places it on the bedside table before shimmying back into bed with her. He kisses her gently on the tip of her nose and trails downwards until his lips find hers. “I’d love to hear them.” 

“You’ll laugh.” 

“I probably will,” he teases. “But that’s because you delight me.” 

Allura traces the sharp line of his jaw and keeps her voice to a whisper. “Then keep them tucked close,” she makes him promise. “They’re only for us. Only we need to see.” 

Lance leans into her touch, shut his eyes, and listens. “Your secret is safe with me.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [tumblr](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/breeeliss)


	18. "sniffing for adventure" | G | 1070

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ["sniffing for adventure"](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/post/181148646909/what-about-a-monsters-mana-au-with-gorgeous)  
> rating: G  
> wc: 1070
> 
> _Monsters & Mana AU. Pike truly has an awful habit of sneaking up on Valayun when she's trying to train in peace._

“You’re looking a little tense today, Val.” 

His disembodied voice came from the trees overlooking her training field, as it always did on the days when he was bored and sought her out. Valayun’s grip on her bow tightened, but she kept her gaze steady on the target in front of her and tried not to give pike the satisfaction of knowing he’d annoyed her. “Isn’t there a dark hovel you should be plundering, Pike?” 

“Today is my day off,” Pike chuckled, sounding like he was coming from the bushes to her right now. “I thought I’d make a friendly visit.” 

“Well you’ve picked a terrible day,” Valayun called out. “I’m busy.” 

“Busy missing?” 

Valayun clenched her jaw. “I don’t miss.” 

“You do when you’re injured.” 

She heard a burst of magic from behind the line of trees, and suddenly Pike was leaning against a tree right next to the target that was set up a few yards in front of her. Valayun ignored him and took a deep breath, preparing to let her arrow fly. “And how do you know I’m injured?” 

"Because your left arm is shaking. And you never shake when you’re holding a bow.” 

Valayun’s brows raised as she turned to see the concern in Pike’s eyes. She overlooked the pain blazing on her left shoulder to take the shot at the target and prove him wrong, but she cursed when it went to wide and clipped the edge of the target before spinning in the air and landing on the ground. Her whole back was hurting too much to hold the bow steady and it was hard to work through it. She sighed and rubbed at the bruise.

Pike shoved his hands in his pockets and slunk closer to her. “What happened?” 

Valayun dropped her quiver of arrows into the grass and yanked off her archery gloves. “I tracked down the rune stone of Lapham. It’s trapped in this strange network of tunnels underneath Rakthum square called the Vallurian catacombs.” 

“And let me guess. You went in there by yourself?” 

Valayun rolled her eyes and started to shed her outer armor. “I thought I could handle it.” 

Pike sat down in the grass next to her and watched Valayun peel off her undershirt, revealing the large mottled bruise that was spread over her shoulder blade. “Val, I’ve been in those catacombs before and they’re riddled with traps. You can’t just go in there by yourself. You could’ve called me.” 

“I got overeager,” Valayun explained. “That rune stone was stolen from my people centuries ago and we’ve been living in squalor ever since. Once I found out where it was I guess I just didn’t think things through.” 

Pike grew solemn. She’d told him the story of her people before, and it was always a topic she tried to avoid just so that the pity wouldn’t make things awkward between them. Despite how much he irritated her, her pain wasn’t something she ever wanted to show Pike. She valued him as a friend too much to put her problems on his shoulders. 

She was about to apologize for the topic change before he riffled through the pack on his hip and pulled out a black vial. “Here. Take it.” 

“What’s that?” 

“It’s a healing balm. Really good for bruises, I use it all the time. It’s infused with magic so it should fix your shoulder right up. Help you get back into training.” 

Valayun narrowed her eyes. “You stole this didn’t you?” 

“That’s rude! I’ll have you know I bought this with my own money.” 

“Money that you stole.” 

Pike waved off the comment. “Semantics, Val. The point is you can have it.” 

Valayun chuckled and handed it back to him. “Do you mind putting it on? I don’t think I can reach.” 

He blinked in confusion for a moment before clearing his throat and tipping the balm out into his hand. Valayun turned her back to him and shivered when the cold substance hit her skin. “Sorry,” he muttered. “It kinda smarts when you first put it on.” 

“It’s alright,” Valayun sighed. “I actually think it’s already helping…” 

The sun was setting behind the trees as Pike sat and treated her wounds. Valayun checked her arrows and wrapped the ones that were frayed at the tips when she mumbled quietly, “Would you want to come with me?” 

Pike’s ears shifted. “What was that?” 

"Would you want to come with me to the Vallurian catacombs?” Valayun asked again. “You’re better at getting past traps than I am, and I’ll make sure you won’t get hurt. We can even find more people for our party if you think it’ll help.” 

Pike shrugged. “I’ll see what Block, Gyro, and Meklavar are up to. They might be busy with their own quests, but at the very least I’ll definitely help you. I've got nothing but time.” 

Valayun smiled so that he wouldn’t see. “Thanks.” 

“Anything for you, beautiful.” 

She reached back and flicked him on the nose. “Flirting is expressly prohibited.” 

“Aw, come on, that wasn’t flirting. Just pointing out the obvious.”

“That’s the same thing, you flirt.” 

“It totally isn’t! And I’ll behave! This is a serious adventure for you, so I’m going to treat it seriously.” 

Once he was done applying the balm, he pulled her shirt back up and smoothed the wrinkles out. Valayun turned and scratched behind his ears, laughing when he purred at the feeling. “I know you will. I trust you.” 

Pike smiled. “When do we leave?” 

“I’ll take a couple of days to rest my shoulder,” Valayun decided. “But I’ll call you when we’re ready to go.” 

“I’ll keep my schedule open,” Pike winked. 

He stood as if to leave, but Valayun grabbed his arm and made him stay for a moment. “Thank you,” she said again. “Really. If we can find this rune stone it would mean a lot to me. And maybe when we’re done we can find the Felexian king’s treasure chest. I know you’ve been trying to retrieve it for your father.” 

Pike laughed. “I’d love that, Val, thank you.” He took her hand, flipped it over, and pressed a kiss to the knuckles. “Feel free to call when you need me.” 

Pike disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving Valayun alone in the valley and smiling into her palm, knowing that Pike was still somewhere close watching. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [tumblr](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/breeeliss)


	19. "a happier ending" | T | 1727

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ["a happier ending"](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/post/181187002889/a-happier-ending)  
> rating: T  
> wc: 1727
> 
> _Modern AU. Team Voltron is less than satisfied with the series finale of their favorite show._

Lance decided that just turning off Netflix period was the best move here. 

Allura had spent most of that last episode crying and screaming at the television, and he wasn’t sure that watching anything else was going to help her deal with the fact that, yeah, that really  _was_  the ending. Full stop, no bullshit, happy early Christmas, have a grand spanking New Year. 

He really needed to lay down or something because holy  _shit_. He couldn’t imagine what Allura was feeling right now. 

Allura was kneeling on the couch cushions, staring at the dark television with her hands raised and her mouth open as if she were just on the precipice of a huge ass rant that was probably gonna wake the neighbors. Not that he blamed her because, honestly, Lance could already feel his phone going off from all the people DMing him on twitter. The neighbors were just gonna have to deal because shit was four seconds away from going  _down._

Three…two…one…

“WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST WATCH!?!” 

Lance jumped at the volume, surprised that Allura would dare let a curse leave her mouth. “Okay, babe,” Lance laughed nervously, “let’s sit down, we’ll process it together, it’s all going to be okay –”

“They killed the princess!!” she exclaimed, pointing at the television. “She was one of the main characters and she just walked off into the light never to be seen again? What kind of rubbish ending is that? She  _started all of this_ , Lance. How could they bloody do that to her?” 

Lance winced. He really didn’t know what to say. The princess was Allura’s favorite character. She begged Lance for laptop stickers and keychains of her for Christmas. Like the love was  _seriously_  there, which was nice because Lance had been nervous that she wouldn’t like the show when he introduced her to it. Although, now he felt sort of bad for pulling her in because…damn did they really just kill the fucking  _princess!?_

 _“_ Her boyfriend,” Allura groaned. “Oh god, just mourning her for the rest of his life, never getting to be with her again. Why would they  _do_  that, Lance, this absolutely ridiculous. We stayed up until three in the morning for this!” 

He pulled her down to sit on the couch and started to rub her shoulders. “I wish I knew what to tell you but I’m as freakin’ stumped as you are. Like, I kinda heard rumors that it might be happening but I sort of thought that was  _the line_  you know? The one they wouldn’t cross?” 

“Lance I literally don’t know what to do with myself I can’t believe this is happening to me.” Allura blinked and reached for her phone in her back pocket. “I’m calling Shiro. He and Keith stayed up to watch it, right?” 

“I think so.” Lance blanched. “Oh god. Oh god the wedding at the end! Shit, Shiro’s probably so pissed!” 

Allura was already queuing up Facetime, pacing around the living room in a frenzy until Shiro picked up on the other end. “Shiro! did you watch the finale?” 

“ _K_ _eith and I were literally just complaining about the quickie wedding the captain had during the post credits scene. He’s seriously pissed.”_

Lance heard Keith screaming in the background. “ _H_ _e should’ve married the motherfucking Black Paladin and you all can fight me on that shit!”_

“Okay but what the hell with the princess dying,” Lance said, coming into the frame next to Allura. 

“ _Y_ _eah that was total bullshit,”_  Keith agreed. Shiro pulled him down on the bed and settled him in front of him so that they were both in front of the camera. “ _I d_ _on’t even get how that went down. Maybe I'm sleep deprived but I wasn’t following that whole scene. Her saying goodbye to the Red Paladin had Shiro_ sobbing _.”_

 _“It was so sad!”_ Shiro defended. “ _M_ _y chest started hurting I felt like I couldn’t breathe! But hold on, wait a minute, who was that guy that the captain married? Seriously. I may have missed a couple of episodes from season 7. Did we meet him?”_

 _“_ I don’t think we did,” Allura frowned. “Do you remember Lance?” 

Lance scratched his chin. “He was some guy on the bridge of the ship I think. But I don’t think him and the captain even interacted at all. We don’t even know his name.” 

Keith rolled his eyes. “ _T_ _hat’s so cheap man_. _Li_ _ke you wait for a gay wedding and a gay kiss on television and you can’t even enjoy it because you don’t even know who the other damn guy is. No relationship build up, nothing.”_  Keith patted Shiro’s chest. “ _I k_ _eep telling you. The captain and the Black Paladin.”_

Shiro tipped his head back. “ _U_ _gh, that would’ve been perfect!”_  

“I don’t even want to go on twitter right now,” Lance said. “People are probably losing their minds right now. There are going to be revolts over the princess dying. That was totally out of left field, I can’t believe they would even go there.” 

“ _H_ _ave Pidge and Hunk watched the season yet?”_ Keith asked. 

Lance leaned over Allura’s shoulder. “Hoooooold on, let me add them because they definitely stayed up for this.” 

He selected Pidge and Hunk’s contacts and waited for them to answer the call. Pidge was the one who answered first, screaming into the screen. “ _THEY KILLED THE FUCKING PRINCESS MY DUDES!”_

“They killed the fucking princess!” Allura screamed. 

“ _Du_ _de I am out of my fucking mind I’m sitting here and Matt comes like barreling into my room complaining about the captain wedding but my ass is over here like dude they seriously just fucking KO’ed one of the goddamn main characters in the series finale. What a dick move.”  
_

Hunk picked up the call and it looked like he had just gotten finished crying. “ _Gu_ _ys, guys, I’m like…the absolute worst I can’t stop watching the princess’s goodbyes to her team. It’s so beautiful but so sad and I just don’t know what to feel.”_

“We are all going to be so fucked up for work today,” Lance bemoaned. “I’m so tired and pissed I’m like about to call in sick. It’s seven in the morning here.” 

Shiro was hugging Keith from behind and leaving kisses on his shoulder while Keith answered. “ _Y_ _eah, Shiro and I took the day off. That shit aired at like three in the morning there was no way any of us were going to make it.”_  

Allura let out a fake sob and turned to hug Lance. “I need to go to sleep, I’m physically and emotionally exhausted.” 

Lance kissed the top of her head. “Alright, well I guess we’re both playing hooky here too.” 

“ _Ca_ _n we have a brunch date today?”_ Hunk pleaded. “ _Li_ _ke just as a way to be kind to ourselves but also so we can decompress? I feel like I need to talk about this.”_

Pidge raised her hand. “ _Di_ _tto. Can we convene at Hunk’s place?”_

Everyone gave a rousing approval to the plan and Hunk’s entire demeanor did a quick one eighty. If there was anything that could cheer him up and distract him from something upsetting, it was the opportunity to cook for his friends. “ _A_ _wesome! Oooh, I can finally make you guys my new french toast recipe. You gotta give me a chance to shower and stuff but do you all want to come here like at around eleven?”_

“ _T_ _hat works. Gives us time to take a quick cat nap.”_ Keith smiled as he nudged his shoulder and saw that Shiro had dozed off against him. “ _S_ _hiro looks like he needs it.”_

 _“_ Your french toast sounds heavenly right now,” Allura mumbled through Lance’s shirt. “We’ll be there.” 

“ _E_ _xcellent!”_ Hunk cheered. “ _O_ _kay guys. It's gonna be okay! we’re going to get through this. I know this was upsetting and we’re all kind of low key dying but we’re gonna talk during brunch. We’re gonna process. We’re gonna all cuddle in my bed. It’s gonna be great.”_

 _“_ Hunk you’re a goddamn bundle of sunshine and I love you,” Lance smiled. 

“ _A_ _lright, team,”_  Pidge saluted. “ _N_ _ap up, and then we feast.”_  

They all said goodbye to each other before hanging up the call. Allura was still hugging lance tightly so he picked her up in his arms and carried them back to their bedroom for a quick power nap. And probably a warm bath. Allura seemed like she definitely needed it. 

“Lance, they killed my beautiful princess,” Allura complained again. “What am I going to do?” 

She sounded so wretched that it broke Lance’s heart, so he decided to be stupid and press a quick flurry of kisses all over her face. Allura giggled and squirmed around in his arms as he kissed down her jaw and blew raspberries into her neck. “Stop stop stop!!! Hahahahaha, Lance stop it that tickles!!” 

“I’m trying to cheer you up!” Lance laughed. “I know it was a crappy ending but it’ll be alright. We’ll find fix-it fanfiction online or something. And there’s still your Christmas present waiting for you.” 

Allura perked up. “Did you get what I asked for?” 

“It’s a surprise,” Lance winked. “But I promise you won’t be disappointed.” 

“Alright,” Allura sighed. “I just feel like i’m going through princess withdrawal. What do I have to look forward to now?” 

“If you want, we can watch that new show together. The one that just dropped. I heard it’s filled with magical princesses. And one of them has a sword.” 

Allura’s eyes widened in delight. “Can we? Oh that sounds so charming.” 

Lance crawled into their bed and laughed when Allura wrapped her arms and legs around him like a koala bear. He pulled the covers over them and set the alarm on his phone for an hour. He’d email his boss when he woke up. “We’ll do it over dinner today,” Lance promised, rubbing her back. “I’ve been meaning to watch it myself anyway. I think you’ll like it.” 

Allura sighed in contentment, snuggling up as close to Lance as she could and kissing his collarbone. “Rubbish ending,” she mumbled. 

“Total rubbish.” 

“Stupid.” 

“Absolutely stupid.” 

“Let’s rewatch the first episode though that date was precious.” 

Lance laughed and stroked her hair until she fell asleep against him. “We’ll leave it on loop for as long as you want.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [tumblr](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/breeeliss)


	20. "nebulous" | G | 1342

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ["nebulous"](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/post/181490238444/nebulous)  
> rating: G  
> wc: 1342
> 
>   _Somedays, Lance looks up at the sky and wishes he could turn into stardust_

Allura was lounging on a golden nebula cloud rearranging the stars when Lance found her. 

She spread them out across the skies with her hands, similar to the way his abuelita would spread dominoes around the table before a new game. When she found a star she liked, she picked it up, polished it with the ends of her hair, and affixed it to the heavens. She brushed the stardust off her hands and let it rain down onto the vast solar systems below her, turning and phasing at speeds that made Lance’s head dizzy if he stared for too long. 

When Allura spotted him, her laugh sounded like it had dozens of others layered on top of it. “You came,” she smiled. “Come, sit sit, I was just making constellations.” 

Lance walked across a belt of asteroids and fell into her. His arms curled around her waist as she pressed his head to her heart. He couldn’t hear the sound of it beating -- only the sounds of suns exploding and planets being formed. 

“Look,” Allura pointed. “I started making a diary of us. That right there is the tree from our first date, remember? And that one is the Blue Lion. And this one here is eventually going to be the locket you got me for my last birthday. I was trying to think of other things to include when you came.” 

Lance’s hands tangled in the folds of her dress made from moonlight. “What about our first Christmas together?” 

Allura laughed. “You scooped me up into your arms and kissed me under the mistletoe. I remember.” She ran a hand through her hair and pulled out a handful of stars for her to toss into the vastness before her. “I could spare a few for that.” 

“And that picture we took in front of the sunset on the roof of the Garrison. The one with you laughing into my shoulder.” 

“Oh no, my hair looked awful in that one.” 

“It looked perfect,” Lance smiled. “I still keep it by my bedside. Right next to the one of our first date. Never saw you laugh so hard in my life.” 

Allura sighed, and Lance felt stardust mixing in with the tears sticking to his lashes. “Those are beautiful memories,” she agreed. Her thumb brushed along the apple of his cheek. “Have you been making new ones?” 

“I’ve...been trying,” he hesitated. “When I can.” 

“Is leaving your bed easier?” 

Lance scoffed. “It’s excruciating.” 

“Have you met anyone?” 

“No. It hurts to talk to people. The words don’t come easily anymore.” 

Allura frowned. “Talking to people is one of the things you’re excellent at.” 

“A lot about me has changed,” Lance admitted. “Like things got taken out, ripped up, and moved around. I get lost in myself now. And I don’t know how to find my way out.” 

“One’s heart should be a refuge,” Allura explained. “Not a prison.” 

“I can’t help it. You took the only key,” Lance mumbled. “Now I’m locked in and there’s no one around to let me out.” 

Allura nodded. “I see. And so you come here.” 

“And so I come here.” 

The universe seemed to full of life when Allura was nearby. Everything bursting, glowing, shifting, and breathing in whorls of color and light. It was everything he loved about the deep unknown brought to life and painted before his eyes in impossible clarity. Allura always made everything she touched beautiful. She could heal worlds, kiss their scars, and stitch them back together. 

Maybe if he turned into stardust she could hold him in her hands and kiss his scars as well. Maybe he’d become a moon, a cluster of stars, a limitless expanse. Maybe the pain would finally shrink before the might of eternity and Allura’s love. 

He could feel a coolness prodding at this thoughts. "Don’t think things like that,” Allura scolded. “You’re so impossibly young. You haven’t lived for the both of us yet.” 

“We were supposed to survive together,” he said. “I don’t know if I'm strong enough to live for two.” 

“Maybe not yet. But you will be. With time, wounds will heal and strength will return. The stars whisper at night, Lance. They hold everyone’s futures. Including yours.” 

“Are you in it?” Lance asked. His head lifted from her chest, and he saw colors he didn’t know the names of float in Allura’s eyes. “If I ask them, will they tell me?” 

Allura sighed, pitifully curling locks of his hair between her fingers. “Oh darling. Why do you hunt for lost things in your dreams? There’s a whole world out there for you to discover. It’s waiting so patiently for you. I can hear it calling.” 

Lance shook his head. “I can only hear you singing while you hold up the sky.” 

Allura’s fingers traced the Altean marks she’d left him -- the ones that glowed when he closed his eyes and imagined his body floating into the clouds and disappearing into her. His soul shifted, and finally it felt like something was awakening. He could hear his blood pumping in his ears, could feel his heart thumping, could feel his skin tingling. But the moment her hands dropped to her lap, the sensation vanished and all that was left was the hollowness. The gaping maw that threatened to gobble him up at night. 

It frightened him to feel it all seep from his skin again, and Allura collected him in her arms the moment his shivers turned to wracking sobs. She said nothing, only pet his hair and pressed kisses to his freckles while he whimpered. “Come back to me. Please, god, just ask them to bring you back. Tell them I want you back...” 

“That’s not how it works,” she lamented. “I can’t dictate your future, Lance. I could barely dictate mine. Worlds age in mysterious ways. But there’s always a reason for the twists and the turns. We have to trust them.” 

“Allura, I can’t,” Lance begged. “Please don’t make me find my way on my own. Let me stay here with you.” 

Her eyes were brimming with sadness, the same type she’d left him with before she walked off into a swath of light never to return again. Allura grabbed his face and kissed him. Briefly. Softly. For the moment their lips made contact, a maelstrom of emotions began to explode in his chest like a starburst galaxy, and it felt like Lance’s body might collapse from the force of it. Whispers of realities that had yet to be born were left on his lips, and Allura wiped them away as if to prove her point. 

“You know I can’t keep you here,” she said, fingers tracing his tear tracks. “You’re not ready. It’s not time.” 

“Then when will the time come?” 

Allura pressed their foreheads together. “I’ll swear something to you,” she said. “If you promise to love and grow in spite of the tears and the failure. If you promise to stare ugliness in the face and dare to find something beautiful. If you promise to  _live_. Then when the stars finally come to take you, I’ll be here waiting for you.” 

Something began to pull him. The air became bitter and it felt like his body was suddenly pressed against something solid. “Look to the sky if you ever forget,” she implored. “Remember our story, and remember what it was like to stare into the future with young, big eyes. Don’t ever forget that feeling. Keep it alive and well for me.”

Lance tried to reach out for her, but his hand passed right through her and grasped at the nothingness that stretched past his fingers. There was no form to her, no outline for him to trace, and no flesh for him to hang onto. 

Just stardust, floating past his nose to dance around the constellations she’d mapped out for him. 

* * *

 

_“Tio, why are you still staring at the sky? Is everything alright?”_

_“I'm fine, mamita. Just got lost in a dream...”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [tumblr](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/breeeliss)


	21. "laundry warriors" | G | 1483

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ["laundry warriors"](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/post/182047479264/if-youre-still-taking-alluralance-ideas-id-love)  
> rating: G  
> wc: 1483 
> 
>  
> 
> _Modern AU. It's not the first time a girl catches Lance singing in the laundry room by himself, but it is the first time the girl sings along with him._

The laundry room in Lance’s apartment was, to put it quite frankly, fucking horrific. He was pretty positive it used to be a torture chamber in the past, but maybe that was the marathoned hours of American Horror Story talking. Either way, it wasn’t uncommon for Lance to put off his laundry for a couple of days because he was terrified of going down into the basement by himself. People could make fun of him all they wanted, the place looked like something out of a Saw movie. 

The fluorescent lights always flickered, the floors were disgusting, the boiler made the most horrendous noises, and the gaping, dark storage room pressed to the back of the room was currently without a door and left plenty of room for Lance to imagine what kind of monster or murderer was hiding in the shadows. 

He really needed to cool it on the true crime podcasts. 

But there was no excuse today. Lance was officially out of underwear so he needed to stay down there and get at least one load done. So Lance plopped his speakers on top of his laundry basket, plugged in his phone, and played the only song he knew that could fill him with a sufficient amount of courage to plunge into the depths of the basement. 

“Be a Man” from the Mulan soundtrack. 

Once the drum line got started and Li Shang’s voice echoed through the room, Lance immediately got pumped. Yes, he was gonna fucking get down to business. This laundry was gonna get  _done_ and he was gonna make Mulan proud. It’s not like he had anything else to do on a Saturday night. Might as well twerk it out to Disney songs while his boxers dried. 

He was sorting through his clothes as he sung rather loudly along to the lyrics. He threw a glare over to that hellishly dark storage room while he worked as if that was going to stick it to whatever was hiding in there. 

“Not today, Satan,” Lance called out. “I’m about to hit this chorus and your demonic ass is about to be  _shook_.” 

Lance was measuring out the detergent the minute the chorus dropped, and he really went in and stretched out those sixth grade glee club muscles. He had this song memorized for years – as every respectable millennial Disney baby should – and he couldn’t help but start dancing around the room as he poured in his soap, shimmied over to his basket, and started throwing clothes in. 

“You’re a spineless, pale, pathetic, lot,” Lance sang, really getting into character. “And you haaaaaven’t got a cluuuuuue –  _woah!_ ” 

Lance turned around to grab from the basket, and for a moment he thought it was a ghost standing in the doorway of the laundry room. But he realized it was just a girl – one he recognized, maybe from four doors down, he’s mad he can’t put a name to that head of dyed grey hair. She was holding her own laundry basket under her arm as she laughed at the performance he was unintentionally putting on for her. Lance coughed into his arm and tried to play it off like he wasn’t totally making a damn fool of himself, but then the next verse of the song came on and the girl in front of him thoroughly surprised him. 

“I’m never gonna catch my breath,” she smirked. 

Lance’s eyes widened. “Say goodbye to those who knew me.” 

She dropped her basket on the laundry machine next to him. “Boy was I a fool in school for cutting gym.” 

“This guy’s got ‘em scared to death!” 

“Hope he doesn’t see right through me!” 

“Boy I really wish that i knew how to swiiiiiiiim!” 

“ _BE A MAN!!!”_

They both roared into the chorus with so much overdramatic vigor that Lance was sure people on the first floor could hear them. But who cares, this was a  _classic_. and this super cute girl was seriously giving him a run for his money with how well she knew these lyrics. God, she even held that long note at the end of the chorus like a total champ. They let the song keep going on without them as they collapsed into laughter against the dryers. 

“Oh god, I haven’t heard that song in a long while,” the girl laughed. 

“Seriously?” Lance gasped. “I watched Mulan like…last week.” 

“It’s one of my favorite Disney movies. Well, that and Aladdin. You can’t forget Aladdin.” 

Lance pounded on his chest. “Princesses of color. Represent.” 

The girl snorted into her hand and started to throw some of her sweaters into the washing machine. “Sorry to interrupt you, but I had to jump in.” 

“Oh please, you did me a favor. That harmonizing we had going on was…” Lance pressed his fingers to his lips and made a loud chef’s kiss to the air, “ _P_ _erfecto.”_

 _“_ Well, singing is always better when you have company,” she said. “Besides, I was sort of hoping there was someone else down here. This laundry room always creeps me out.”

“Doesn’t it? I feel like someone is gonna pop out the shadows and kill me.” 

“I had a bloody nightmare about this basement the first time I came down here! Swear on my life!” 

“Well, if you ever need back up and a bomb ass Disney playlist when you’re doing laundry, I’m your dude. That stuff helps.” 

Allura grinned and shook her head at him as if she was surprised to see him suddenly standing in front of her. “I didn’t catch your name…” 

“Lance,” he said, holding out his hand. “I feel like I’ve seen you before. I’m in 507 if that helps.” 

“Allura,” she supplied. “And yes, I’ve definitely seen you going out for jogs early in the morning. I’m in 501.”

Lance winked. “Oh, well, hello neighbor. It was a pleasure dorking out to Disney soundtracks with you.” 

Allura bowed dramatically. “Likewise. Have you got anymore queued up?” 

“Let’s see. I’ve got ‘Be Our Guest,’ ‘Friend Like Me,’ ‘Let It Go,’ and ‘I Just Can’t Wait to be King.’ Pick your poison.” 

“‘Friend Like Me’ obviously,” Allura scoffed. 

“Right, right, Aladdin junkie. Why didn’t I realize sooner?” 

“Jasmine was my spirit animal. I dressed up as her for Halloween three years in a row back when my hair was still black. I was the splitting image of her.” 

“Wait that’s so adorable. I’m so basic, I think I reused the same pirate costume for like five years.” 

“You were a pirate for five years?” 

“Well, for the first year. Next year I was a ghost pirate. Then a zombie pirate. Demon pirate. And a Cuban pirate.” 

Allura chuckled. “What on Earth is a Cuban pirate?” 

“A pirate with a Cuban flag wrapped around his head that says  _truco o trato_  to all the gringos that answer the door.” 

He left her laughing so hard that she stumbled back a couple of steps and had to catch herself against the machine behind her. “Are you like this all the time?” 

“Please. This isn’t even me trying. You should wait until I  _really_  get the jokes going. You won’t survive.” 

Allura shrugged. “I mean, I have to stay here until my clothes are done washing. So I’ve got nothing but time.” 

Lance smiled. “Alright. But remember. You asked.” 

“Listen, if it keeps me occupied on a Saturday night, I promise I won’t mind.” 

“Well, if you eventually get tired of my jokes, I have Aladdin on dvd back at my place. I could pop some popcorn and throw it on for us. I was getting kind of bored sitting in my apartment all day and laundry can only get so exciting.” 

Allura bit her lip, distracting herself with loading the rest of her clothes. “I’d like that. I’ll bring blankets and some sweets I brought back from work.” 

“Yes! Sleepover! Haven’t had one of those in a while.” 

“Hm?” Allura smirked, raising a brow. “Want me to sleepover, do you? You ought to ask me to dinner first.” 

Lance sputtered. “W-Wha? No! No no. No, that’s not what I meant, no. Totally platonic, buds being buds, watching a movie, five feet apart ‘cause we’re not gay.” 

“That’s a shame,” Allura shrugged. “If you wanted me all to yourself, all you had to do was ask.” 

Lance leaned into the start button on the washer at the same time she did and tried to play off the fervent jolt of excitement that lit up the length of his spine. “That was really smooth, Allura.” 

She giggled. “Why thank you.” 

“Do you like takeout?” he offered. “I was thinking Thai food.” 

“I’ll pay if you show me pictures of all of those pirate halloween costumes. I feel like I’m only going to believe this Cuban pirate story if I see it for myself.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [tumblr](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/breeeliss)


	22. "honeymooning" | G | 1862

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ["honeymooning"](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/post/182337879669/honeymooning)  
> rating: G  
> wc: 1862 
> 
> _Allura decides that she and Lance deserve some time to themselves now that they're officially married. So she plans a little surprise._

Lance and Allura’s wedding was one of the most attended social events on this side of the universe.

At a certain point, Allura lost control of the guest list as Lance and Coran kept thinking of more people to invite, so eventually they became solely responsible for all of the table settings. They ended up having to change venues three times over until they decided a large ceremony at the palace in New Altea was the most obvious choice. Thanks to Colleen Holt, the juniberry flower gardens in the palace were more beautiful than Allura could’ve ever imagined, and it ended up being a beautiful ceremony.

They both agreed to a marriage of Earth and Altean customs. Romelle and Nadia helped Allura design a darling wedding dress in Altean colors but cut to a human style. Meanwhile, Shiro and Coran butted heads for close to two weeks before they decided on an outfit for Lance that was a perfect mix of Altean and Earth formal wear. They exchanged rings, recited traditional Altean weddings vows that Lance had spent weeks learning just for her, and kissed to a thunderous applause.

After three days of partying, Allura’s coronation ceremony was held so that she would be officially known as the Queen of the New Altea. Allura took Lance to a private room in the royal palace and held an intimate ceremony with just the two of them where he kneeled before her and swore to uphold his duties as her Prince Consort.

It was a flurry of excitement, and once all of the guests had finally gone home, Allura had decided she needed peace and quiet. Away from everyone. Immediately.

“Are queens allowed to take vacations?” Keith joked

“I’m the Queen who decides if queens are allowed to take vacations so yes they’re allowed to take vacations because I need one.” Allura threw her communicator across the table after writing her one hundred and seventy fifth personalized thank you note. “Lance and I haven’t gotten a moment alone together since we got married.”

"Alright, I think you’re exaggerating.”

“No Keith. Alone time. You know...”

Keith groaned and pushed his breakfast away. “Oh come on Allura, I didn’t need to know that.”

“Listen, back in my day, there was an entire pomp and circumstance around making sure the King and Queen consummated their marriage before the wedding guests went home. Granted it’s an outdated custom at this point, but maybe they were onto something. They wanted to make sure needs were fulfilled. And I have a plethora of needs. Just so many needs, Keith.”

“Allura, stop talking to me.”

“He was so handsome, wasn’t he?” Allura sighed. “Just breathtaking. Hair all slicked back, suit tailored perfectly. If the two of us weren’t so tired that night after everything that had happened I would’ve -- ”

“Okay!” Keith threw up his hands. “Okay, I get it. The Queen needs a vacation. Crystal clear. Message received. Why are you telling me this?”

“I have a surprise for Lance, but I need someone to cover for us. You and Shiro are staying in New Altea for a bit, aren’t you?”

Keith blinked. “You want us to hold down the fort for you two while you’re off doing who the quiznack knows what?”

Allura whined and reached for Keith’s hands across the breakfast table. “Pleeaaasse! You two are more than capable and Coran will be here to help you. Just for half an Earth month. Make sure nothing burns down, and if it’s urgent Lance and I will just be a call away.”

“Does Shiro know about this?”

“Shiro was actually very supportive of the plan,” Allura said. “I promised him that he and you could use our royal bed chambers while we were away. You know. So long as you change the bedding before we get back.”

This time, Keith started blushing. “A-Allura, shut up!”

She grinned. “So will you do it?”

Keith rolled his eyes. “As much as I hate agreeing to anything that involves me helping Lance get laid, yeah. I’ll do it. But you guys have to actually spend the entire two weeks relaxing. We won’t call to bother you.”

Allura got up from her seat to press kisses to Keith’s cheek. “Oh, I owe you so much Keith, thank you. I’ll go tell Lance to start packing.”

“Don’t have too much fun. Actually come back, huh?”

“Huh? Oh! Of course. I mean, we’ll see, won’t we?”

“Allura!”

“I’ll see you in a month Keith!”

“You literally said two weeks!”

Surprisingly enough, it took a lot of effort to convince Lance onto the Blue Lion without clueing him onto what Allura had planned. He’d thrown himself fully into his royal duties and was actually reluctant to have to put them on hold, especially since one of the first things he’d committed himself to was getting to know all the new Alteans and immersing himself in Allura’s culture as much as he could. When she’d come to whisk him away, a gaggle of Altean children were clinging to his legs and begging him not to go so that they could hear more stories about Earth and his travels.

“You’ll be back soon, I promise,” she said, piloting the lion while Lance sat on one of the arm rests. “But I thought this would be good for us. What did you say humans called it? Sweetmooning?”

“Honeymooning,” Lance gently corrected. “And I guess you’re right. I didn’t really appreciate how busy the two of us would be after the wedding.”

“You wanted to be a prince,” Allura smirked. “Here you are.”

“I thought watching the Princess Diaries would be enough to prepare me, but I guess not.”

“Listen, you’re a natural. The hardest part for a lot of people is learning humility and how to listen to their people, and you do that wonderfully. All the political and diplomatic logistics will come with experience. And I’ll be there the entire time to help you out.”

Lance kissed the top of her head. “I just want to do a good job. I want to make everyone proud.”

“And you will,” she smiled at him. “But don’t think about that now. I think the two of us deserve to just exist for a little bit.”

“Yeah, about that,” Lance smirked. “You’re still not going to tell me where we’re going, are you?”

“Nope!” Allura announced. “And stop staring at the star charts, that’s cheating.”

“Give me a hint.”

“It’s a place you’ve been to before.”

“Well that’s not specific at all!”

“Too bad. That’s all you’ll be getting.”

They flew for a full day before Lance gasped from behind her as he looked upon the display in front of him. It must have been quite a shock to see how different Earth looked to him now. Even Allura was surprised when she was shown before and after pictures of the planet. But it was always nice to see the love Lance held for his home reflected in his eyes whenever he got to return back to it to visit his family. But Allura wasn’t planning on taking him back to his family home. No, she did a lot of research with the rest of the paladins’ help in order to make arrangements for their honeymoon. She only hoped that Lance liked it.

She steered the lion away from the US mainland and, to Lance’s confusion, headed straight for the Caribbean sea. It took him a moment to realize just where they were going, but the moment the Blue Lion landed on a familiar sandy beach, Lance was practically jumping out of Blue’s mouth and flinging his shoes off so that he could race onto the stretch of sand plucked straight from his childhood memories.

Allura laughed as he ran to the water and looked up at the beautiful, private sea side villa that Veronica and helped Allura purchase when she originally asked her for help. “I thought you’d like to know that Varadero hasn’t changed much,” she told him. “And I believe that this entire section of the beach comes with the house. So it’s all ours.”

Lance’s hands were buried in his hair as he turned his body around in disbelief. “Are you serious? We own this?”

“Indeed.”

He giggled like a little boy before he ran up to her, pulled her into his arms, and spun her around in circles while he pressed kisses to her face. “I love you, I love you, I love you!”

“Admit it,” she teased. “I’m a pretty great wife, aren’t I?”

“You are my favorite person in the entire universe,” he swore as he kissed her hair. “I just look at you and I feel like I’m going to explode. This is the best thing anyone has ever done for me.”

“Well, I love you,” she said, as if it were the most simple explanation in the world. “I’m always wishing I could do more and more for you. But I hoped we could enjoy ourselves here for a couple of weeks. No one else. Just us. Lots of alone time.”

Lance raised a brow. “Alone time, huh? Are you saying what I think you’re saying.”

She bit her lip. “There are more surprises inside if you want to come and take a peek with me. The bedroom happens to be my favorite part of the entire arrangement.”

“What did you do?”

“Nothing! At least nothing bad...” She jumped down and started to pull him up the hill towards the villa. “Come on. I’ll give you a nice reward if you beat me there.”

“Babe, you’re going to kill me.”

“Well, don’t die yet. We’re here for the next two weeks and I have a lot planned.”

Lance didn’t need to be told twice. He splashed her with sea water before racing through the sand and up into the house. Allura managed to catch up to him and jump on his back just before he reached for the knob and crashed into the house. It was truly beautiful -- a beautiful balcony opening up to the sea, sheer curtains fluttering in the sea breeze, rustic hardwood floors, new furnishings accented with pinks and blues -- but the two of them ignored everything for the time being. Lance was too busy carrying Allura to their bedroom, slipping her out of her dress, and collapsing onto the bed with her in a flurry of kisses and sighs.

“You’re so perfect,” he laughed. “You keep making me fall for you all over again.”

Allura kissed the tip of his nose. “I hope it’s always like this. Us constantly surprising each other. And, lucky us, we have a whole lifetime for it.”

“I love being married to you.”

“I love being married to you more.”

“Is this a competition?”

“I don’t know. How much time do we have before dinner?”

Lance stared at the clock on the bedside table. “Three hours. Plenty of time for us to have fun.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him back down to her. “Then let’s not waste a moment.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> find me on [tumblr](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/breeeliss)

**Author's Note:**

> find me on [tumblr](http://breeeliss.tumblr.com/) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/breeeliss)


End file.
